Tithonus by Lord Tennyson : Theme of Mortality and Immortality

 Theme of Mortality and Immortality in Tithonus by Lord Tennyson :

  Mortality and Immortality:

The poem  “Tithonus” by Tennyson is based on a Greek myth. According to the myth Tithonus the son of Laomedon – the king of Troy. The legend tells that Tithonus was loved by the goddess of  dawn, Eos or Aurora. As Eos was an immortal Goddess, he requested her for the gift of immortality for himself. She happily granted him eternal life but forgot to gift  ever – lasting youth. Tithonus gradually became old and withered away to decrepit and shriveled old man. 

      Tithonus grows old but never dies while Eos not only never dies but also never grows old. This feeling makes him more miserable there grows an emotional distance between the two lovers. He as a withered old man, not able to relate himself with the forever young and beautiful Goddess of dawn who renews her beauty and youth “morn by morn”.

    The poem begins with acknowledgement of the natural cycle of life, with death being the final culmination of life as in nature. 

    “The woods decay, the woods decay and fall,/

    The vapours weep their burthen to the ground.”

     The opening lines of the poem present the theme of mortality, the eternal cycle of life and death. The woods in the forest grow old and shed their leaves to the ground to decompose. Vapours weep their burden of moisture in the form of rain. Similarly – 

  “Man comes and tills the fields and lie beneath /

    And after many a summer dies the swan.”

    Here, the speaker – Tithonus describe the process of death and decay in the nature. He points out that everything which takes birth on this earth has to die and lie beneath the ground. He says man is born, works the earth and then dies and is buried underground. After living for some years even swans meet their death.

     Every thing in nature tends towards death and dissolution. He considers all these perishable things of nature are better than him as he has become an exception. 

     “Me only cruel immortality/

    Consumes;  I wither slowly in thine arms”.

   Only Tithonus, unlike others, can not return to the earth and become something new. The gift of immortality has become a curse to him. Tithonus tells Aurora, goddess of dawn, that he grows old slowly in her arms like a  “white – haired shadow” roaming in the east.

    The speaker Tithonus then states his present “maim ‘d” condition before his beloved Aurora or Eos. He describes how her “strong Hours” worked against him and  “beat him down” and   “marr’ d and wasted” him. Although the time can not end him but injured him to nearly death. Her he emphasise the destruction of his vitality and his withered condition.

     Tithonus complains that he has become a “grey – shadow” of his own erstwhile glory and beauty. He is now faded ill – suited to be a lover of Goddess of dawn – Eos. 

   Now the lover begs, 

   “Let me go, take back thy gift”. 

   The beloved moves into pity and sheds tears. But the gift of immortality once granted by the Gods  can not be reversed.  

  “The Gods themselves can not recall their gifts”.

  Once earned immortality has become cruelty to him. He asks her to set him free from her eastern domain. He tells her that their natures do not match as she is an immortal goddess whereas Tithonus is a mortal is a mortal human being. She is forever young and beautiful whereas he is adversely impacted by old age.

    Her “rosy shadow” bathe him cold and his  “wrinkled” feet trembles when he finds himself at her cold threshold. 

    His immortality with this withered old state makes him crave for mortality.  

   “……. when the steam / 

    Floats up from those dim fields about the homes/

   Of happy men that have the power to die.”

    When he looks at the steam floating from the homes of men who are destined to die he feels that they are happy to be mortal.

   Even those who are dead and lie in their  “grass barrows” or graves are happier than him.

   The poem  “Tithonus” thus emphasises that immortality is not meant for human being and every living being has to die. The poem express the idea that human beings should be content with mortality and the reality of death, as immortality for humans can turn out to be a curse.

   “Tithonus” portrays immortality as a curse that consumes and deteriorates the body and mind, leaving the immortal trapped in an eternal cycle of decay and longing for release.