“Tithonus” by Alfred Lord Tennyson: Explanation

 Tithonus by Alfred Lord Tennyson : Line by line Explanation 

Line 1 to 10 : 

  “The woods ……… halls of morn.”

Explanation : Here Tennyson describes the remorseful mood of the speaker – Tithonus as he addresses his beloved – Goddess of Dawn. Tithonus says – The woods rot away and with time they fall on the ground. The air or vapour carrying the moisture, throws these burden in the form of rain in the ground. The imagery of weeping vapours adds a layer of sorrow, as if the skies themselves mourn the fate of all things that eventually succumb to  the gravity of time. Here, the vapours are personified to weep. Human beings are born and works on the fields, live their lives on the earth and then buried beneath the ground. After living for some years even swans meet their death. The swans’ death is particularly evocative;  though it lives through many summers a symbol of beauty and grace even it is not immune to death. These lines establishes the theme of mortality that contrasts sharply with immortal existence of Tithonus.

    Here, the speaker present himself as an exception to these natural order. He says – But I am endlessly devoured by immortality. Unlike all these woods, vapour, man and the swan, I can not decay and fall. I am trapped by the  “cruel immortality” granted by you. I lie in your arms, Eos and wither away slowly. Old age is taken away the strength from my body and I left here in the silence of the world’s farthest limits. Due to this immortal life but perpetual withering I now appear like a  “shadow with white hair” which emphasises his ghostly appearance. He further adds that he is roaming around like a  “dream” floating through  “ever silent spaces of the East”. He is caught between the tangible world and some other ethereal realm, a place always covered with mist and shining halls of the morning. This is suggestive of unattainable beauty and renewal that dawn represents forever out of his grasp.

  Line 11 to 17 :

   Alas! for the ……………they give.

   Explanation : Tithonus laments that his youthful looks have withered and he is no more than a  ” grey shadow” of the person he used to be. These lines convey a sense of loss. Tithonus recalls his past vitality and glory. Once he used to be handsome, energetic and youthful man. He looked so handsome that the Goddess chose him as her lover which made him the happiest man. His selection by a divine being made him feel in his puffed up heart, that he must be a god himself. So he had asked the Goddess of dawn, Eos to grant him the boon of eternal life so that he could love her forever. In turn she granted this boon to him so easily with a smile like  rich  people give money to someone without considering the consequences or the nature of the gift. This indicates that the goddess gave him the gift of immortality without thinking about the consequences of the boon for the receiver. These lines present the theme of unintended consequences of wishing beyond the natural order of thing. These lines points out the way Eos carelessly granted eternal life and forgot to grant him eternal youth also.

    Line 18 to 23 :

    But thy strong Hours ……. in ashes.

   Explanation :   Tithonus regretfully thinks of the time when the Goddess of dawn, Aurora gave him the gift of eternal life without eternal youth. But the “strong Hours” had been annoyed by the perversion of its natural law. The time is personified as  “strong Hour” here. Time has taken its revenge against him and made him weak, withered and old. As a result of the gift or boon of immortality, Tithonus did not die. But he is a crippled and deformed old man. There’s a sense of indignity in the way time treats him, leaving him “maim’ d” and less then he once used to be. He still lives with the Goddess of dawn, who is forever young. The juxtaposition of  “immortal age beside immortal youth” is tragic – Tithonus ages but does not die, while Eos remains eternally young. His former self is now reduced to “ashes” or completely degraded which he can never be achieve.

  Line 23 to 31 :

   Can thy love ……. meet for all ?

  Explanation:   Tithonus wants to ask Goddess Aurora, if she can make amend to her error of giving him such a gift. Whether the love and beauty of the goddess can compensate for the torment he endures. The “silver star”, possibly the planet Venus, often associated with love, guides Eos and is reflected in her tearful eyes, signifying her regret and sadness over Tithonus’ fate. Now he directly appeals to take back this unwanted gift of immortality and let him go. Now he realises the value of natural order of life and death from which he has been excluded. He ponders why anyone would want to be different from rest of the mankind and in living beyond the “goal of ordinance”, the normal human lifespan. Why should any man want to be set apart from the rest of the gentle human race, or trespass beyond the reasonable limits of human life – the boundary where everyone should stop as is right and fitting ? These lines again emphasise that no human being should be an exception so far as death is concerned. It comes to all and the one who does not follow the course of nature has to suffer.

  Line 32 to 36 : 

   A soft air ……..  heart renewed.

   Explanation : Tithonus says that a soft breeze is separating the clouds from one another which provides a momentary glimpse into Tithonus’ past. The earth – “dark world” can be seen through the gap created by this separation of the clouds. Here, the  “dark world” refers to the mortal world he was born into – stark contrast to the perpetual dawn, he now inhabits. This glimpse reminds him of what he has lost, his mortality and the natural world he was a part of.

     The speaker further describes Eos’s transformation at dawn with an ethereal beauty. He says – once again I see that old mysterious shimmer on your lovely forehead and and on your lovely shoulders and feel your heart beating with fresh strength. The  “old mysterious glimmer” alludes to the recurring beauty of Eos that Tithonus has witnessed countless times. The word “heart renewed” refers to the Goddess’s ever fresh – beauty. But on the other hand,  Tithonus’  world is full of darkness. These lines present a contrast between the world of Goddess of dawn and the mortal, earthly world to which Tithonus belongs. 

  Line 37 to 42 :

  Thy cheek ……. flakes of fire.

  Explanation:  These lines describe how the Goddess of dawn appears. Tithonus says to Aurora that cheek starts to blush and turn red through the darkness, her beautiful eyes looking into his, slowly brighten with light. As her  arrival marks the end of the darkness of the night. Tithonus looks at her beauty and says though your eyes have not yet grown so bright as they will be when they put out the lights of the stars and blind them to invisibility.

     Tithonus further adds, when the  “wild band” of horses, who love her and rise up, waiting eagerly to hitch them to start pulling her chariot again. As the chariot starts its journey the horses will shake off the dark of the night from their  “loosened manes” and charge through the twilight, fanning its faded coals into the fresh flames of sunrise. Before answering Tithonus’ request the goddess disappears again.

    These lines present a vivid picture of dawn. The day dawns as if the cheeks of the beautiful goddess were getting red. The appearance of morning light after the darkness of the night has been beautifully depicted here. The readers can visualise the moment of stars and the chariot of light as the day dawns.

  Line:  43 to 49 :

   Lo ! ever thus ………. ……recall their gifts. 

  Explanation : Instead of answering the request of take back the gifts of immortality form Tithonus the Goddess silently goes back. Then Tithonus says that she always begin shinning this way without speaking and before any answer to him she leaves him and her tears wet his face. 

    Tithonus notices her helplessness and says that he realises her helplessness in not being able to make him mortal again. The tears of the Goddess remind him of the saying he had heard long ago –

    “Gods cannot take back the boon, granted to someone”.

       Tithonus observes that the goddess can understand his pain and agony but she herself seems to be helpless. It points out that even gods have their limitations like human beings.

  Line  50 to 61 :

   Aye me ! Aye me! …………Apollo sing.

  Explanation:  Tithonus remembers the days when he was young lover of the beautiful Goddess. He realises that he is perhaps not the same person, he used to be. How differently he felt long ago and how differently he watched, as if the long lost self was even same person as him, who used to look at the changing colours and shapes of Aurora at dawn. At that time, he could see the shimmering light beginning to gather around her, and her dark hair  beginning  to glow with sunlight as if they have caught fire. As he watched her make this magical transformation, it brings a change in Tithonus also. He felt his blood glow with the same sunrise’s warmth that slowly flushed her body and her palace. While he lay there with his mouth, his forehead, his eyelids all warm and dampened with her kisses, sweeter than newly opened spring flowers.

    At that time he could hear the very lips that kissed him,whispering mysterious, wild, sweet words which he could not understand. Her words sounded like those of the God Apollo’s song, when he created the towers of Troy by playing upon his flute. He evokes an image of Troy (Ilion), his homeland, appearing majestic and dream-like, rising from the mist, possibly alluding to the legendary past and the glory of life before his transformation into an immortal being.

   These lines again express Tithonus regret and sense of loss resulting from the gifts of immortality he received from the goddess. His talking of the days before he became immortal and was ruined because of this, highlight the depth of his suffering and pain.

    Line 62  to 74 :

   Yet hold me not ……..thy silver wheel.

   Explanation : Tithonus pleads with Aurora, not to keep him bound the land of the eternal dawn, which she governs. His cold, mortal nature would not match with her warm, immortal nature any more. The “rosy shadows” and lights of dawn, once source of warmth and joy for him, now feel cold to him, and his withered feet fell cold as he pass through the shimmering doorways of her palace. 

   On the other hand, a look at the steam floating from the home of mortal men, who are destined to die tells him that they are very happy. They do not have to suffer eternal life without permanent youth. He feels even the dead, lying in their grass – covered graves, to be happier than he is.

     He further insists Goddess Aurora, to let him go and join them in the earth to end this eternal suffering. He further adds that she can see everything and she will be able to see him lying in his grass – covered grave after his death. He imagines a world where she will continue to renew her beauty and youth over and over, morning by morning. While once he returned to dust, will no longer remember this hollow palace, and forget the sight of her returning home in her silver – wheeled chariot. The “silver wheels” refer to her chariot which brings the dawn each day. Here, Tithonus will not want to remember her beautiful court as he can not match her in youth and beauty. If he set free from immortality, he will die and go to his grave.