Tithonus by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Tithonus 

By Alfred Lord Tennyson

The woods decay, the woods decay and fall,

The vapours weep their burthen to the ground,

Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath,

And after many a summer dies the swan.

Me only cruel immortality

Consumes: I wither slowly in thine arms,

Here at the quiet limit of the world,

A white-hair'd shadow roaming like a dream

The ever-silent spaces of the East,

Far-folded mists, and gleaming halls of morn.

         Alas! for this gray shadow, once a man—

So glorious in his beauty and thy choice,

Who madest him thy chosen, that he seem'd

To his great heart none other than a God!

I ask'd thee, 'Give me immortality.'

Then didst thou grant mine asking with a smile,

Like wealthy men, who care not how they give.

But thy strong Hours indignant work'd their wills,

And beat me down and marr'd and wasted me,

And tho' they could not end me, left me maim'd

To dwell in presence of immortal youth,

Immortal age beside immortal youth,

And all I was, in ashes. Can thy love,

Thy beauty, make amends, tho' even now,

Close over us, the silver star, thy guide,

Shines in those tremulous eyes that fill with tears

To hear me? Let me go: take back thy gift:

Why should a man desire in any way

To vary from the kindly race of men

Or pass beyond the goal of ordinance

Where all should pause, as is most meet for all?

         A soft air fans the cloud apart; there comes

A glimpse of that dark world where I was born.

Once more the old mysterious glimmer steals

From thy pure brows, and from thy shoulders pure,

And bosom beating with a heart renew'd.

Thy cheek begins to redden thro' the gloom,

Thy sweet eyes brighten slowly close to mine,

Ere yet they blind the stars, and the wild team

Which love thee, yearning for thy yoke, arise,

And shake the darkness from their loosen'd manes,

And beat the twilight into flakes of fire.

         Lo! ever thus thou growest beautiful

In silence, then before thine answer given

Departest, and thy tears are on my cheek.

         Why wilt thou ever scare me with thy tears,

And make me tremble lest a saying learnt,

In days far-off, on that dark earth, be true?

'The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts.'

         Ay me! ay me! with what another heart

In days far-off, and with what other eyes

I used to watch—if I be he that watch'd—

The lucid outline forming round thee; saw

The dim curls kindle into sunny rings;

Changed with thy mystic change, and felt my blood

Glow with the glow that slowly crimson'd all

Thy presence and thy portals, while I lay,

Mouth, forehead, eyelids, growing dewy-warm

With kisses balmier than half-opening buds

Of April, and could hear the lips that kiss'd

Whispering I knew not what of wild and sweet,

Like that strange song I heard Apollo sing,

While Ilion like a mist rose into towers.

         Yet hold me not for ever in thine East:

How can my nature longer mix with thine?

Coldly thy rosy shadows bathe me, cold

Are all thy lights, and cold my wrinkled feet

Upon thy glimmering thresholds, when the steam

Floats up from those dim fields about the homes

Of happy men that have the power to die,

And grassy barrows of the happier dead.

Release me, and restore me to the ground;

Thou seëst all things, thou wilt see my grave:

Thou wilt renew thy beauty morn by morn;

I earth in earth forget these empty courts,

And thee returning on thy silver wheels.

TITHONUS – LINE BY LINE PARAPHRASE

Stanza 1

The woods decay, the woods decay and fall,

→ Forests grow old, decay, and finally fall.

The vapours weep their burthen to the ground,

→ Clouds release rain onto the earth.

Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath,

→ Humans work on land and eventually die.

And after many a summer dies the swan.

→ Even long-living creatures like swans finally die.

Me only cruel immortality

→ Only I suffer from cruel immortality.

Consumes: I wither slowly in thine arms,

→ I slowly grow weaker and older in your embrace.

Here at the quiet limit of the world,

→ I live at the edge of the world, in silence.

A white-hair'd shadow roaming like a dream

→ I wander like a ghost with white hair.

The ever-silent spaces of the East,

→ Through the quiet eastern regions.

Far-folded mists, and gleaming halls of morn.

→ Through distant mist and shining morning skies.

Stanza 2

Alas! for this gray shadow, once a man—

→ Sadly, this weak shadow was once a strong man.

So glorious in his beauty and thy choice,

→ Once handsome and chosen by you.

Who madest him thy chosen, that he seem'd

→ You selected him specially.

To his great heart none other than a God!

→ He felt like a god because of your love.

I ask'd thee, 'Give me immortality.'

→ I asked you to make me immortal.

Then didst thou grant mine asking with a smile,

→ You agreed happily.

Like wealthy men, who care not how they give.

→ Like rich people who give carelessly.

But thy strong Hours indignant work'd their wills,

→ Time angrily did its work.

And beat me down and marr'd and wasted me,

→ Time ruined my body.

And tho' they could not end me, left me maim'd

→ Though I could not die, I became crippled.

To dwell in presence of immortal youth,

→ I must live beside your eternal youth.

Immortal age beside immortal youth,

→ My endless old age beside your eternal youth.

And all I was, in ashes.

→ My former self is completely destroyed.

Can thy love,

→ Can your love

Thy beauty, make amends, tho' even now,

→ And beauty compensate for this?

Close over us, the silver star, thy guide,

→ The evening star appears above us.

Shines in those tremulous eyes that fill with tears

→ It reflects in your tearful eyes

To hear me?

→ When you hear me.

Let me go: take back thy gift:

→ Free me; remove my immortality.

Why should a man desire in any way

→ Why should a human want

To vary from the kindly race of men

→ To be different from other humans

Or pass beyond the goal of ordinance

→ Or go beyond natural limits

Where all should pause, as is most meet for all?

→ Where everyone must stop (death).

Stanza 3

A soft air fans the cloud apart; there comes

→ A gentle breeze moves the clouds.

A glimpse of that dark world where I was born.

→ I briefly see Earth again.

Once more the old mysterious glimmer steals

→ Your divine glow appears again

From thy pure brows, and from thy shoulders pure,

→ From your face and shoulders

And bosom beating with a heart renew'd.

→ From your youthful body.

Thy cheek begins to redden thro' the gloom,

→ Your cheeks glow pink.

Thy sweet eyes brighten slowly close to mine,

→ Your eyes shine near mine.

Ere yet they blind the stars,

→ Before they outshine the stars.

and the wild team

→ Your horses

Which love thee, yearning for thy yoke, arise,

→ Which pull your chariot

And shake the darkness from their loosen'd manes,

→ Shake off darkness.

And beat the twilight into flakes of fire.

→ Turn dawn into sparks of light.

Stanza 4

Lo! ever thus thou growest beautiful

→ See! You always grow more beautiful

In silence, then before thine answer given

→ Without speaking

Departest, and thy tears are on my cheek.

→ You leave, leaving tears on my face.

Stanza 5

Why wilt thou ever scare me with thy tears,

→ Why do your tears frighten me?

And make me tremble lest a saying learnt,

→ They remind me of an old saying.

In days far-off, on that dark earth, be true?

→ From my past life.

'The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts.'

→ Gods cannot take back their gifts.

Stanza 6

Ay me! ay me! with what another heart

→ Oh! With a very different heart

In days far-off, and with what other eyes

→ And younger eyes

I used to watch—if I be he that watch'd—

→ I watched you long ago.

The lucid outline forming round thee;

→ Your shining form.

Saw the dim curls kindle into sunny rings;

→ Your hair glowing.

Changed with thy mystic change,

→ I changed with you.

and felt my blood

→ I felt passion

Glow with the glow that slowly crimson'd all

→ My blood warmed

Thy presence and thy portals,

→ Your entire being

while I lay,

→ As I lay near you

Mouth, forehead, eyelids, growing dewy-warm

→ Being kissed

With kisses balmier than half-opening buds

→ Soft kisses

Of April,

→ Like spring flowers

and could hear the lips that kiss'd

→ And heard you whisper

Whispering I knew not what of wild and sweet,

→ Sweet words

Like that strange song I heard Apollo sing,

→ Like Apollo's music

While Ilion like a mist rose into towers.

→ During Troy’s rise.

Stanza 7

Yet hold me not for ever in thine East:

→ Do not keep me here forever.

How can my nature longer mix with thine?

→ We are too different now.

Coldly thy rosy shadows bathe me, cold

→ Your light feels cold.

Are all thy lights, and cold my wrinkled feet

→ Everything feels cold to me.

Upon thy glimmering thresholds,

→ At your palace.

when the steam

→ Smoke rises

Floats up from those dim fields

→ From Earth

about the homes

→ Houses

Of happy men that have the power to die,

→ Mortals who can die.

And grassy barrows of the happier dead.

→ Graves of the dead.

Release me, and restore me to the ground;

→ Let me die.

Thou seëst all things, thou wilt see my grave:

→ You will see my grave.

Thou wilt renew thy beauty morn by morn;

→ You remain young.

I earth in earth forget these empty courts,

→ I will return to dust.

And thee returning on thy silver wheels.

→ You will rise again in your chariot.

Central Message

Tithonus teaches:

Immortality without youth is a curse.

Death is natural and necessary.

Humans should accept their limits.

TITHONUS – STANZA-WISE EXPLANATION & LITERARY DEVICES

STANZA 1

The woods decay, the woods decay and fall... gleaming halls of morn.

Explanation

Tithonus begins by describing the natural cycle of life. Trees decay, rain falls, humans work and die, even long-living birds like swans eventually perish. Everything in nature follows a fixed law of birth and death.

But he alone is cursed with immortality. He grows old slowly in Aurora’s arms. He lives at the far edge of the world, wandering like a ghost in the silent East. The beautiful morning palace of Aurora contrasts sharply with his decaying body.

Literary Devices

Repetition

“The woods decay, the woods decay” – emphasizes the certainty of decay.

Personification

“The vapours weep” – clouds are given human emotion.

Imagery

Vivid nature images: woods, rain, swan, mist, morning halls.

Contrast

Mortal world (decay, death) vs.

His unnatural immortality

Metaphor

“white-hair’d shadow” – he is compared to a ghost.

STANZA 2

Alas! for this gray shadow... as is most meet for all?

Explanation

Tithonus laments his present condition. He recalls how he was once handsome and chosen by Aurora, feeling almost god-like.

He admits his mistake – he asked for immortality without thinking properly. Aurora granted it carelessly.

Time (Hours) punished him by ageing his body though he cannot die. He now lives with endless old age beside Aurora’s eternal youth.

He begs her to take back the gift. He questions why humans should go beyond their natural limits. Death is natural and proper.

Literary Devices

Apostrophe

Direct address to Aurora.

Allusion

Reference to Greek myth of Tithonus and Aurora.

Simile

“Like wealthy men” – compares Aurora’s careless gift to rich men’s charity.

Personification

“thy strong Hours indignant” – time acts angrily.

Paradox

“Immortal age beside immortal youth”

– eternal old age beside eternal youth.

Rhetorical Questions

“Why should a man desire…?”

Expresses philosophical doubt.

STANZA 3

A soft air fans the cloud apart... flakes of fire.

Explanation

Aurora prepares to leave at dawn. A gentle breeze clears the clouds and Tithonus briefly sees the human world again.

Aurora’s divine glow returns. Her cheeks redden, eyes brighten. Her horses rise to pull her chariot.

They shake off darkness and turn twilight into fiery light.

This scene highlights her eternal youth and beauty.

Literary Devices

Imagery

Strong visual images of dawn, light, horses.

Personification

Horses “shake the darkness.”

Symbolism

Dawn = renewal

Aurora = eternal youth

Metaphor

“beat the twilight into flakes of fire” – sunrise.

STANZA 4

Lo! ever thus thou growest beautiful... tears are on my cheek.

Explanation

Tithonus observes that Aurora always grows more beautiful silently.

Before answering him, she leaves, but her tears fall on his face.

Her tears show pity but cannot change his fate.

Literary Devices

Exclamation

“Lo!” – emotional outburst.

Visual Imagery

Tears on his cheek.

Symbolism

Tears = helpless compassion.

STANZA 5

Why wilt thou ever scare me... cannot recall their gifts.

Explanation

Aurora’s tears frighten Tithonus. They remind him of an old saying:

“Even gods cannot take back their gifts.”

This confirms his hopeless situation.

Literary Devices

Allusion

Reference to ancient proverb.

Irony

Gods are powerful but cannot undo their own gifts.

Foreshadowing

Suggests his doom is permanent.

STANZA 6

Ay me! ay me!... Ilion like a mist rose into towers.

Explanation

Tithonus remembers his youth. He recalls watching Aurora’s beauty form slowly.

He felt passion, warmth, love, and joy.

He describes their kisses, sweet whispers, and divine moments.

He compares her voice to Apollo’s song.

These memories make his present suffering more painful.

Literary Devices

Exclamation

“Ay me! ay me!” – sorrow.

Imagery

Sensory details of kisses, warmth, light.

Allusion

Apollo

Ilion (Troy)

Simile

“Like that strange song” – comparing her whisper to Apollo’s music.

Contrast

Youthful passion vs. present decay.

STANZA 7

Yet hold me not for ever... on thy silver wheels.

Explanation

Tithonus finally begs Aurora to release him.

Their natures no longer match. Her light feels cold to him.

He envies mortal humans who can die peacefully.

He asks to return to earth and become dust.

Aurora will remain eternally beautiful, rising every morning in her silver chariot.

Literary Devices

Symbolism

Earth = death

Silver wheels = sun chariot

Contrast

Mortal happiness vs. his misery

Metaphor

“I earth in earth” – returning to dust.

Pathos

Evokes deep pity.

OVERALL THEMES

Curse of immortality

Importance of death

Youth vs. old age

Limits of human ambition

CONCLUSION

Through Tithonus, Tennyson warns:

Do not overstep natural limits.

Immortality without youth is a punishment, not a blessing.

DETAILED SUMMARY – TITHONUS

Tithonus is a dramatic monologue based on Greek mythology. The speaker, Tithonus, is a mortal man loved by Aurora (Eos), the goddess of dawn. The poem explores the tragic consequences of immortality without youth and presents deep philosophical reflections on life, time, and human limitations.

Opening Reflection on Nature

The poem begins with Tithonus observing the natural world. He notes that everything in nature follows a cycle of birth, decay, and death. Trees decay and fall, clouds release rain, humans cultivate the land and finally die, and even long-living birds like swans eventually perish. This opening emphasizes the universality of death. Everything living must end.

Tithonus contrasts this natural law with his own condition. Unlike others, he cannot die. He calls his immortality “cruel” because it keeps him alive while his body continues to decay. He grows old slowly while lying in Aurora’s arms. He lives at the far edge of the world, wandering like a ghost in the silent eastern regions where Aurora rises each morning.

His Past Glory and Fatal Mistake

Tithonus laments his present condition and remembers his past. He was once handsome, strong, and chosen by Aurora herself. Her love made him feel god-like. In his happiness, he foolishly asked Aurora to grant him immortality. She granted his wish carelessly, like a rich person who gives without thinking about consequences.

Time, personified as “strong Hours,” punished him for this mistake. Though time could not kill him, it destroyed his youth and strength. He was beaten down by age and left weak and helpless. He now lives forever with endless old age beside Aurora’s eternal youth. Everything he once was has turned to ashes.

Regret and Request for Release

Tithonus asks Aurora whether her beauty and love can make up for his suffering. He notices tears in her eyes as she listens to him. These tears show her pity, but she cannot change his fate. Tithonus begs her to take back her gift of immortality. He questions why humans should desire to go beyond natural limits. He believes it is right and proper for all humans to stop at death.

Description of Aurora at Dawn

A gentle breeze clears the clouds, and Tithonus briefly sees the human world again. Aurora’s divine glow returns as dawn approaches. Her cheeks redden, her eyes shine, and her youthful beauty renews itself. Her horses rise to pull her golden chariot across the sky. They shake off darkness and turn twilight into glowing light. This scene highlights Aurora’s eternal youth and power, sharply contrasting with Tithonus’s decaying body.

Aurora’s Silent Departure

Tithonus observes that Aurora always grows more beautiful silently. Without giving him an answer, she leaves him. Her tears fall on his cheeks, showing sympathy but also helplessness. She cannot change what has been done.

The Irrevocable Gift

Aurora’s tears frighten Tithonus. They remind him of an old proverb:

“The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts.”

This means that even gods cannot undo what they have given. Tithonus realizes that his fate is final.

Memories of Youthful Love

Tithonus recalls his youth with deep sorrow. He remembers watching Aurora’s beauty form slowly. He remembers her glowing hair, her warm kisses, and their passionate moments together. He compares her whispering voice to Apollo’s divine music. These memories of love and happiness make his present suffering more painful.

Final Plea for Death

In the final part of the poem, Tithonus begs Aurora not to keep him in her world forever. Their natures no longer match. Her divine light feels cold to him. He envies ordinary mortals whose homes send up smoke in the evening and who have the privilege of dying. He even envies the dead resting peacefully in their graves.

He asks Aurora to release him and let him return to the earth. He wants to become dust and forget his empty immortal life. He knows Aurora will continue to renew her beauty every morning and ride across the sky in her silver chariot.

CONCLUSION

Tithonus teaches that immortality without youth is a curse. Through the tragic figure of Tithonus, Tennyson shows that death is natural and necessary. Human life gains meaning because it ends. The poem warns against human ambition and crossing natural limits.

The poem is both emotional and philosophical, making it one of Tennyson’s most powerful works.

CHARACTER SKETCH OF TITHONUS

Tithonus is the central character and speaker of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem Tithonus. He is a tragic figure whose life reflects the painful consequences of human ambition and the limits of mortal existence.

1. A Mortal Loved by a Goddess

Tithonus was once a handsome mortal man chosen by Aurora, the goddess of dawn. Her love made him feel divine and superior to ordinary humans. This shows his extraordinary charm and attractiveness in his youth.

2. Ambitious and Foolish

Tithonus makes a fatal mistake by asking Aurora for immortality. He forgets to ask for eternal youth. This reveals his carelessness and human weakness. His desire to escape death reflects mankind’s natural fear of mortality.

3. A Victim of His Own Wish

Now immortal but endlessly ageing, Tithonus suffers deeply. He describes himself as a “white-haired shadow,” showing his physical decay. His immortality has become a cruel punishment rather than a blessing.

4. Regretful and Self-Aware

Unlike many tragic heroes, Tithonus realizes his mistake. He regrets his decision and openly admits his foolishness. His speech is full of sorrow, reflection, and wisdom. He understands that death is natural and necessary.

5. Emotional and Sensitive

Tithonus feels deeply. He is hurt by Aurora’s tears and moved by memories of their past love. His emotional sensitivity makes him a sympathetic character.

6. Philosophical Thinker

Through suffering, Tithonus becomes philosophical. He questions human ambition and the desire to cross natural limits. He believes that mortals should accept their fate peacefully.

7. Desperate for Release

By the end of the poem, Tithonus longs for death. He envies ordinary humans who can die. His final plea to Aurora shows his deep desperation to return to earth and rest.

CONCLUSION

Tithonus represents human ambition, regret, and wisdom gained through suffering. His tragic fate teaches us that life is meaningful because it ends. Through Tithonus, Tennyson delivers a timeless message about accepting natural limits.