Tithonus

Explanation | Quick Summary | Poetic Devices | Main Themes | Class 12 | ISC Syllabus | Rhapsody

Short Summary of the Poem

Tithonus, a poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson. The poem is based on a Greek myth about a Trojan prince named Tithonus, who was loved by Eos, the goddess of dawn. Out of love, he asked her for immortality so they could be together forever. But she forgot to ask for eternal youth. This mistake meant that while Eos stayed young and beautiful, Tithonus continued to age endlessly. He could not die, and his immortality slowly became a curse.

The poem begins with images of nature’s cycle — the woods decay and fall, vapours shed their burden as rain, men live and die, and even swans perish after many summers. Everything in nature eventually ends, but Tithonus cannot. This creates a sharp contrast between the natural order and his unnatural fate.

Tithonus himself describes his condition as that of a “white-haired shadow,” weak, insubstantial, and fading. He remembers the pride of his youth, when being chosen by a goddess made him feel almost like a god himself. But that pride, or hubris, led to his downfall. Time, personified as the “Hours,” continues to waste him away, leaving him broken but never allowing him the peace of death. What makes his suffering worse is Eos’s eternal youth.

Every morning, she renews herself with beauty and light, while he only grows older and colder. Watching her transformation reminds him of their passionate love in the past, which deepens his sorrow in the present. In the end, Tithonus begs Eos to take back her gift and release him into death. He longs to return to the earth and rejoin the natural cycle of life and death that all mortals share.

But Eos remains silent, unable to undo what has been given. The poem closes with the sad contrast: she will always be reborn at dawn, while he will continue to wither forever.

For a detailed explanation of the poem Telephone Conversation and other poems of class12 ISC Syllabus, go to my channel, Beauty of Language.

Main Themes of the Poem

1. Mortality versus immortality

• A curse, not a blessing: So, initially, Tithonus asked for immortality out of pride and love for the goddess Eos. But due to a lack of eternal youth, he gradually got trapped in a state of eternal decay, constantly tortured by the fact that even gods cannot take back their gifts.
• The value of death: When he started aging, he understood that death is an important part of the natural order. He begged to be released from this suffering, so that he can find peace. He thought that men on earth are happier because they have the power to die.

2. Aging and decay

• The contrast of youth and age: The old age and eternal decay of Tithonus is made even more painful because he lives with Eos and he gets to see her renew every single day. With her eternal youth he is constantly reminded of his own withering body and loss of vitality.
• A “white-hair’d shadow”: He describes himself as a white haired shadow because he feels hollow and selfless. It stands as a stark contrast against the glorious man that he once was in his youth.

3. Lost love and isolation

• Emotional distance: Even though Tithonus stays with Eos in her “Gleaming halls of morn” but their love is no longer a source of joy. In fact, it turned into a constant torment, the reminder of the fact that his mortal nature can no longer mix with her divine essence, and her beauty now seems cold.
• Remembrance of the past: Tithonus sadly remembers the warmth and love they shared in his youth, and this memory makes his sorrow even greater. Because he will have to live forever, so he can never escape these memories, leaving him stuck in the pain of what he has lost.
• Separation from nature: By becoming immortal, Tithonus is cut off from the natural world and its cycle of life and death. He sees the seasons change and people being born and dying, but he cannot share in this natural cycle of life and death.

4. Hubris and its consequences- Hubris means excessive pride.

• Desiring to transcend human limits: The poem shows the pride in a mortal’s wish to be like a god. When Tithonus, in his arrogance, asked for eternal life, unknowingly he brought misery upon himself. It proved that trying to rise above the natural human condition only leads to disaster.
• Futility of human desire: The poem serves as a warning to be careful about what we wish for. Tithonus’s sad fate shows the danger of uncontrolled desires and reminds us that what people think they want is not always actually good for them.

Poetic Devices used in the poem Tithonus:

1. Allusion- This poetic device is used when there is a reference of a person, place, or a historical incident. Here it is the refence of a classical myth- a Trojan prince who fell in love with Eos, the goddess of dawn. He asked for eternal life but forgot to ask for eternal youth, which left him to grow old forever. This myth forms the heart of the poem’s tragedy.

2.Imagery

The poem is rich with sensory imagery that creates a sharp contrast between the vibrant, renewing dawn and the decaying body of Tithonus.

• Decay and aging: The poem begins with images of decay and the natural cycle of life and death, such as “The woods decay, the woods decay and fall” and “after many a summer dies the swan.” These natural endings stand in contrast to Tithonus’s unnatural fate of living forever.
• Light and warmth: Tithonus remembers the bright arrival of Eos, describing her glowing cheeks and the fiery sparks from her chariot horses. This vivid picture of beauty and warmth highlights the contrast with his own cold, worn-out condition.
• Shadow: Tithonus calls himself a “white-haired shadow roaming like a dream,” showing how he has lost his strength, vigour, and sense of identity.

3. Metaphor and simile

Tennyson uses metaphors and similes to convey Tithonus’s sense of loss and his relationship with the eternal Eos.

• “Immortal age beside immortal youth:” Tithonus’s withered body is contrasted with Eos’s youthful form, creating a powerful juxtaposition and highlighting his isolation.
• “Me only cruel immortality / Consumes”: Immortality is shown as a cruel power that slowly destroys him, highlighting his endless suffering.
• “Like wealthy men, who care not how they give”: Tithonus compares Eos granting his wish to a wealthy man giving money, which suggests that her divine benevolence was careless and unthinking.

4. Personification: The poetic device where human-like qualities are given to inanimate objects.

• Personified Time: Tithonus describes the mythological “Hours” as his sisters, who “beat me down and marr’d and wasted me“. This personification makes the relentless passage of time feel like a personal assault.
• Personified Vapors: The line “The vapours weep their burthen to the ground” personifies mist as a sorrowful entity. This mirrors Tithonus’s own despair and his heavy burden.

5. Irony

The central tragedy of “Tithonus” is built on dramatic and situational irony.

• Gift becomes a curse: Tithonus’s desire for eternal life, which he believed would be a blessing, proves to be a terrible curse because it came without eternal youth.
• Goddess of dawn brings sorrow: Eos, the goddess of the dawn who brings light and renewal to the world, instead brings Tithonus daily sorrow as a reminder of his decay.

6. Repetition

• “The woods decay, the woods decay and fall”: This repetition at the beginning of the poem emphasizes the natural cycle of death and renewal that Tithonus is excluded from.
• “Earth in earth”: The repetition of this phrase in his final plea for death highlights his profound desire to return to the natural, finite state of humanity.

7. Structure

• Dramatic monologue: The poem is a dramatic monologue, with Tithonus speaking directly to Eos. This form allows the reader to experience his torment and introspection directly, creating a powerful sense of pathos.
• Blank verse: The poem is written in blank verse, unrhymed iambic pentameter, which gives it a natural, conversational, yet an elevated tone.

About the Poet

Alfred Lord Tennyson was one of the greatest poets of the Victorian era. Born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, he later became the Poet Laureate of the UK, serving for 42 years — the longest in history — during Queen Victoria’s reign.

Tennyson believed in law, order, and the divine plan of life. The death of his close friend Arthur Hallam inspired his masterpiece In Memoriam, which even Queen Victoria said gave her deep comfort after Prince Albert’s death.

Some of his most famous works include The Lady of Shalott, The Lotos-Eaters, Mariana, and Maud. His poetry is admired for blending personal emotion with universal themes, making him one of the most influential voices of his age.

Overview of the Poem

In this poem, Tithonus, a mortal man, asks the goddess Eos for immortality. She grants his wish but forgets to ask for eternal youth. As a result, Tithonus lives forever but keeps aging, becoming frail, weak, and miserable. The idea comes from the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, where this mistake is first mentioned.

Tennyson first wrote the poem in 1833 after the death of his close friend Arthur Hallam. It was revised and published in 1860 in Cornhill Magazine under the title Tithonus and later included in Enoch Arden (1864).

This poem is a dramatic monologue in blank verse, spoken in Tithonus’s own voice. It is divided into seven sections, each exploring themes of immortality, aging, and human suffering.

About the Myth

In Greek mythology, Tithonus was the handsome son of King Laomedon of Troy. The dawn goddess Eos (Aurora) fell in love with him and asked Zeus to grant him immortality so they could be together.

But Eos forgot to ask for eternal youth. As a result, Tithonus lived forever but kept aging, becoming weaker and weaker, while Eos remained young. This myth forms the basis of Tennyson’s poem. Even though the poet has made some changes in this poem in the context of the myth.

Now let’s start the line-by-line analysis of the poem. The poem is tooooo long, 76 lines!! But sit tight. It is a good poem.

Detailed Analysis

1. Poem:

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.

Explanation

“Tithonus” begins with a bird’s-eye view of a withering world. The poet gives a very detailed explanation of how the world decays and starts again. He says that in the forest, the trees, they grow, they decay and fall, then vapours, that is the clouds when they are no longer able to hold the burden it sheds the water to the ground in the form of rain, then comes the man, who is born on this earth, he cultivates the field and then dies and is buried here itself. And then the swan, they also die after many summers. So basically, he is trying to say that every living being meets its end.

The emphasis of “the woods decay, the woods decay and fall‘ suggests that he has seen forest after forest rise and rot away. Frail as flowers, while epochs pass. Epochs mean a period of time in history. The repeated phrase “the woods decay and fall” serves as a melancholic, which means sad, refrain that nature, in its endless cycle, is subject to decline and death. It shows the relentless nature of time and that death is inevitable.

The vapours weep their burthen to the ground- Here, vapours means the moisture in the air. And burthen means burden. It is the old word for burden. It means the vapours, they shed their burden to the ground, and they are freed. In this line, the imagery of the weeping vapours adds a layer of sorrow, as if the skies themselves, they mourn the fate of all things that must eventually succumb to the gravity of time. That is, the image of “weeping vapours” creates a feeling of sadness, as if the sky itself is crying, grieving over the fact that everything must eventually surrender to the power of time. Here, “weeping vapours” is represented both literally as rain falling to the ground and symbolically as the sorrows of life. Also, he personifies them, imagining that when the rain comes, they mournfully “weep.”

Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath- Here, the man’s short life on earth is compared to a farmer, which is temporary and inevitably ends with him becoming part of the land he once cultivated. It conveys the cycle of life and death. And the Polysyndeton, which is a rhetorical device that involves the repeated use of several conjunctions, like “and,” “or,” or “but” in close succession to connect words, phrases, or clauses within a sentence. So polysyndeton in the line- “man comes and tills the fields and lies beneath” captures the one-thing-after-another circle of life ticking ceaselessly, that is, continuously away in front of Tithonus.

And after many a summer dies the swan– The swan’s death is particularly evocative; though it lives through many summers. It serves as a symbol of beauty and grace. Even a swan is not immune to death. The swan’s death hints at a very exciting and transcendent beauty, which means beyond physical human experience, a moment of glory that comes just before it’s all over-AND because it’s all over. His allusion to the swan- Allusion is a literary device used to refer to something well-known, like a famous person, story, place, or event, without saying it explicitly. So the poet’s allusion to the swan, which lives “many a summer” before it dies, is actually from an old legend: swans were said to be astonishingly long-lived, and to be silent until the moment of their deaths. Before their death, they sang lovely, unearthly songs.

This stanza establishes the theme of mortality that contrasts sharply with the immortal existence of Tithonus. Everyone is freed from the burden, and everyone meets their end. But such releases are not for the immortal Tithonus.

2. Poem

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

Explanation

In this dramatic monologue, a poem spoken in the voice of a particular character, here it is Tithonus. He laments. He grieves over it, that while he knows the circle of life and death more closely than any other human being ever could. But the thing is that he can’t participate in it himself.

As he says. “Me only cruel immortality.” It means that death devours everyone else except him. The blessing of immortality has now become cruel for him, it has become a curse for him. Devour means to eat, not the normal way of eating. For example, when we are very hungry, and then we get our favourite food in front of us. How are you gonna eat? You are gonna devour it, right?

Here, the speaker, Tithonus, describes himself as an anomaly, something that is different from what is normal or usual within the natural order. And you know what is different with Tithonus, right? He cannot die. Unlike the woods, the vapour, man, and the swan, he cannot decay and fall; he is trapped by the “cruel immortality” granted to him.

Consumes: I wither slowly in thine arms- The word “consumes” here is paradoxical; it is contradictory here-normally one would be consumed by death, not immortality. But for Tithonus, immortality is a slow consumption, a perpetual withering, a forever  weakening, rather than a quick release. He is being “consumed” by his own immortality.

I wither slowly in thine arms- Here, Tithonus reveals that he’s speaking to someone. Because “In thine arms” means in your arms. So he tells Eos that “I wither slowly in thine arms”. You can imagine a sickbed where a sad visitor is embracing a loved one, who is dying. In the case of Tithonus, the loved one will never and can never die. With immortality, there is immortal grief, never-ending grief, and never-ending suffering.

Here at the quiet limit of the world- It is said to be right on the boundary between the mortals and the divine realms. realm means the sphere of existence. So Tithonus and Eos rest at the “quiet limit of the world”.

A white-hair’d shadow roaming like a dream- In this ethereal landscape, the quiet limit of the world, Tithonus feels that he is nothing more than a “white-haired shadow roaming like a dream.” Here there is double poetic device used- the metaphor of the shadow meeting the simile of the dream. It suggests, it implies just how fragile, how immaterial, how wasted Tithonus feels. He calls himself a “shadow,”, he compares himself to a shadow shows that he’s frail, he is weak and insubstantial. Insubstantial means having no form. You have seen a shadow; it does not have a form, so in the same way, he is. Here, it has been implied a sharp contrast with his beloved, Eos, who is also immortal, but has the blessing of eternal youth. Tithonus has become weak, fragile, roaming like a shadow, completely insubstantial in contrast with his beautiful, young, and vibrant Eos. He also calls himself a dream. It means that he has no solid reality, here on earth or anywhere else. He doesn’t fit in with his surroundings, because with the gift of immortality, he cannot be counted as human. And clearly, he is not a god.

The ever-silent spaces of the East/ Far-folded mists, and gleaming halls of morn- Here the East has been described as silent and vast. Gleaming means bright and shiny. Morn means morning. The palaces of the morning, where the goddess of the dawn, Eos, resides. So Tithonus and Eos, they look out over an endless stretch of “far folded mists”. These mists are layered one above the other like silks. His comparison to a “dream” floating through “ever-silent spaces of the East” is filled with the idea of liminality. Liminality means a state of transition between one stage and the next, especially between major stages in one’s life or during a rite of passage. He is caught between the tangible world and some other ethereal realm, a place that is marked by the “gleaming halls of morn”. It suggests this unattainable beauty and renewal that dawn represents will be forever out of his grasp.

Question Suggestion

Here you can be asked that- What is the significance of “far-folded mists” in the poem?- So this phrase suggests a sense of distance and obscurity that reflects Tithonus’s isolation and detachment from the world.

3. Poem:

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!

Explanation:

Alas! for this gray shadow, once a man— In these lines he remembers his old days, when he was glorius and full of life. Tithonus reiterates, he restates that he’s a shadow now, a “gray shadow” of the man he once
was. He remembers that long-lost man who was really something in his youth.

So glorious in his beauty and thy choice/ Who madest him thy chosen- He says, he was “glorious in his beauty,” truly handsome-but he felt even more glorious for being Eos’s “choice”. To be picked out as a goddess’s lover, to be her “chosen” one, is a real flex, right? And I think this was enough to make any good-looking young man feel proud. Tithonus’s insistent Polyptoton, means a rhetorical device that involves the repetition of a word or phrase in different grammatical forms within the same sentence or passage. So the insist on “choice” and “chosen” here reflects just how much it mattered to him to be the one Eos wanted.

Question Suggestion-

You can be asked- How does Tithonus describe his former self in the poem?

These lines unearth the seeds of Tithonus’s destruction; these lines reveal the beginning of Tithonus’s downfall. So like a true classical hero, he has a tragic flaw: hubris, which means the fact of somebody being too proud, or fatal arrogance. When Eos chose him to be her lover. He remembers, he felt as if he were “none other than a God!” With a “great heart” puffed up beyond measure, swollen with both love and ego. The young Tithonus started to believe he was something which he was not. By trying to live up to his exaggerated self-image, he ended up bringing a curse upon himself.

4. Poem:

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.

Explanation:

These lines reveal the folly of both Tithonus and Eos. Tithonus recalls the fateful request he made to the goddess Eos-to be made immortal. His mistake was to imagine himself as a God. He was a chosen one by God, and he started thinking of being God himself. He started to demand the rights and privileges of God. On the other hand, Eos’s mistake was that she forgot that his lover was a human.

Then didst thou grant mine asking with a smile/ Like wealthy men, who care not how they give- Eos’s smile is like that of the careless generosity of the rich, who give without considering the consequences or the nature of the gift. She granted him immortality but forgot that humans age. Tithonus asks for “immortality,” and that’s exactly what she gives him -not immortal youth, but immortality. This introduces the theme of Unintended Consequences and The Folly of Wishing for more than what is naturally given.

Question Suggestion-

You can be asked- Describe the circumstances under which Tithonus was granted immortality.

Then also you can be asked- What similarity is mentioned between the rant of immortality to Tithinus and the way wealthy people give their money to someone?

5. Poem:

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,

Explanation:

Now these lines tell us what happened after he was granted the gift of immortality, without eternal youth. But thy strong Hours indignant work’d their wills- Tithonus remembers that when Eos granted Tithonus immortality, he soon realized his victory was short-lived. Eos’s servants, the personified “Hours,” they got angry at this disruption of nature’s order. Since Eos had forgotten to grant him eternal youth, the Hours took advantage of it.

And beat me down and marr’d and wasted me/ And tho’ they could not end me, left me maim’d- The Hours, they beat him down, marred means acchi khaasi cheezo ko barbaad kar dena, and wasted him. And since they couldn’t kill him, so they left him maimed. Maimed means to injure a person so severely that their body or a part of their body will no longer work as it should. Hours treated him very badly, very harshly, almost like bullies punishing him. As the goddess of the dawn, Eos is closely related to time: the rising sun. The hours are hers here, that is why he said, “thy strong Hours“.

To dwell in presence of immortal youth,/Immortal age beside immortal youth- His repetitions in these lines painfully juxtapose “immortal age” with “immortal youth“. It reminds the readers of a further irony. Eos’s “immortal youth” reflects the paradox of sunrise. Tithonus ages but does not die, whereas Eos (Aurora) remains eternally young. The dawn is unspeakably ancient; it’s older even than the idea of time. The Sun has been rising since time unknown. But every sunrise is also totally new: it begins a fresh day, and symbolically, it’s the “youth” of that day, the very spirit of newness. Eos’s “immortal youth” is perhaps the most painful thing that the withered Tithonus could have to live alongside.

And all I was, in ashes. Can thy love- His former self, the young and handsome man that he was, is reduced to “ashes”. It is a powerful image of complete degradation and the finality that he can never achieve. It can be said that Tithonus has been burned up by the merciless course of the sun. Now, Tithonus is forced to “dwell in the presence of immortal youth,” referring to Eos, while he is “in ashes.” His never-ending age is made worse by the fact that Eos is completely untouched by time.

6. Poem

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?

Explanation:

In these lines, Tithonus is pleading with Eos to take her gift back. Thy beauty, make amends, tho’ even now- He says, even now you make the amends, you can make the change of taking back this gift of immortality. He questions whether the love and beauty of the goddess can compensate for the suffering, the pain, the torture he endures.

Shines in those tremulous eyes that fill with tears– As Tithonus remembers his downfall, that what he once was and what he has become now. It obviously affects Eos, who is there listening to it, and her eyes are filled with tears. The “silver star”, that is, Venus, guides Eos (Aurora) and is reflected in her tearful eyes. It signifies her regret and sadness over Tithonus’s fate. But even this moment of tender pity is limited by cruel time. Tithonus observes that “Close over us,” the “silver star” that is Eos’s “guide” is rising. In other words, the morning star is coming up. This suggests that the moment has come when Eos will have to leave to bring in the dawn.

To hear me? Let me go: take back thy gift- In these moments, while she’s still here and holding him, Tithonus begs her for mercy. He pleads with her, Please take your gift back. But there is no reply from her, other than her tears. This passage implies that this must have happened many times before as well. The couple must have had this conversation every morning for centuries. Tithonus knows exactly what the “morning star” reflecting in Eos’s tearful eyes means. And Eos’s helpless silence feels both tragic and ominous. There’s nothing she can so or say to her lover at this point; she must have said it all before. For some reason, it seems to be outside her power to “take back [her] gift” and let him die. All she can do is hold him and cry.

Why should a man desire in any way/ To vary from the kindly race of men- Now Tithonus, he doesn’t really seem to expect an answer, either. Since he doesn’t expect an answer, so he turns away into his self-accusing thoughts. Hopelessly asking why he ever wanted to “vary from the kindly race of men.” to be something more than other humans. His request with Eos to release him from immortality shows that he now values the natural order of life and death from which he has been excluded. Even more importantly, he asks himself why he once was so keen, so desperate to: pass beyond the goal of ordinance/ Where all should pause, as is most meet for all? He thinks that why anyone would want to deviate, or turn away from the human experience, to go beyond the natural boundaries that is set for life. And from the first stanza, we can see that now he understands the life and death cycle of life, and also misses not being a part of it now. This is the reason why he begs Eos to take her gift back, so that he can join back the kindly race of men, so that he can be same as any other human being.

Question Suggestion-

You can be asked in this context that-

• What does Tithonus compare Aurora’s eyes to?
• What does Tithonus fear about Aurora’s tears?
• What is the significance of the goal of ordinance?

7. Poem:

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.

Explanation:

In this stanza, Tithonus is watching the sky right before the dawning of the sun and the coming of Eos, in simple words, he is watching the sky before morning comes. In the last stanza, we saw that Tithonus is lying in Eos’s arms. But she has to leave because her guide, the morning star, is rising. There comes a change: a breeze “fans the cloud apart,” and Tithonus catches a glimpse of that dark world where he was born. The sky here is said to be like that “dark world” that all of humankind came from before they were born. It is the mortal world.

At the same time, Eos begins to glow mysteriously. Her glow is no mystery to Tithonus, of course: it’s something he is seeing once more, and it’s an “old mysterious glimmer”. So basically it is a mysterious sight to him. Now pay attention here, see Tithonus has seen this glow before, an old glimmer. But still he calls it mysterious, the beauty of Eos is still a mystery to him, though he has seen it before, infact he sees it everyday. Eos, the goddess of dawn, is starting to personify the dawn, glowing with that mysterious light that “steals” silently across the horizon just before the sun appears.

From thy pure brows, and from thy shoulders pure/ And bosom beating with a heart renew’d- The glimmer about which Tithonus is talking emerges from her pure brows and the pure shoulders. And a heart with a new heartbeat, signifying a new start, a fresh beginning. The repetition of the word pure here emphasizes the fact that how perfect, eternally youthful the Goddess is, which is completely opposite to marred and wasted Tithonus. The line bosom beating with a heart renew’d portrays that refreshed and renewed heart. It also implies and suggests that Eos is not just eternally youthful and changeless, but she is reborn. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Here the poet is telling what, she is changeless, but still she is reborn every day just like the dawn, the sunrise, the morning. The transformation of Eos, that is, the image of “immortal youth” in contrast with Tithonus’s “immortal age.”

Question Suggestion:

You can be asked- What is the significance of this line- A glimpse of that dark world where I was born?

8. Poem

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.

Explanation

In the previous lines, we saw that Tithonus is sad and is looking at Eos’s transformation. So the transforation continues. It started as a faint, “mysterious glimmer,” like the first pale light of dawn, but now her glow has grown brighter, warmer, and stronger. Thy cheek begins to redden thro’ the gloom / Thy sweet eyes brighten slowly close to mine / Ere yet they blind the stars- Here you can see how beautifully the poet has used the imagery of a sunrise and shown it through Eos’s beauty. Her reddening cheek evokes blushing clouds. Her slowly brightening eyes haven’t yet “blind(ed] the stars” . Ere means before. So you must have seen that before the sun is completely out, we can still see the stars in the sky. This is what is being said here. Here you can notice that the repetition of the word thy here. It shows Eos’s transformation moment by moment. It is as if Tithonus’s eyes are fixed on her changing face.

So these images of dawn that is personified, also capture the bright-eyed flush of youthful love. (Please note down this phrase, and be attentive and keep noting down the words and phrases children, it is going to help you in your answers). Seeing Eos’s blush and her eyes brightening near his, Tithonus also sees what he must have seen when the couple were young together. Here especially, the image of her eyes “close to [his]” suggests that Eos’s glow of dawn reflects the romantic love they shared when they were both young and beautiful. She relives that excitement and pleasure every morning, which he can only watch. Very soon, he’ll leave him.

and the wild team– Even now, he observes the wild team of Eos. This “wild team” is the celestial horses.

Which love thee, yearning for thy yoke- So this wild team, the celestial horses, who draw her chariot across the sky, that love her, are yearning, means they are eagerly waiting. For thy yoke- means that they are waiting for their mistress to come and harness them. Yoke means a long piece of wood fixed across the necks of two animals so that they can pull heavy loads together. These horses “love thee.” Tithonus tells Eos, perhaps with a hint of envy and wistfulness. Wistfulness means a complex emotion, which is a combination of sadness and a gentle desire for something that can’t be had, like a lost opportunity, a past time, or an unattainable dream.

And shake the darkness from their loosen’d manes/ And beat the twilight into flakes of fire- So these wild team, the horses, they shake the darkness from their loosened manes. Manes means the hair on their neck. And they beat the twilight, means the time after the sun has set and before it gets completely dark, into flakes of fire. It is as if the horses are running across a bed of coals, stirring them back to life. But it’s also a sight in which Tithonus can’t participate. Why can’t he do so? Because he’s not a part of this daily renewal, with its energy and its fiery splendor. He can only watch it now and wither and wither.

In silence, then before thine answer given /Departest, and thy tears are on my cheek- And then he says that whenever he makes the request again to her, for taking back his immortality, what does she do? She departs. He is so miserable that he cannot even get a simple yes or no from the goddess who once loved him, the one who used to be his beloved. Eos glows, renews-then leaves “in silence,” without giving any “answer” to Tithonus’s requests. Tithonus says that all she leaves behind her are tears on his cheek. Their embrace never leads anywhere.

Question Suggestion-

Here you can be asked- Give a description of the appearance of dawn on her chariot.

9. Poem

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

Explanation

Why wilt thou ever scare me with thy tears/ And make me tremble lest a saying learnt- Tithonus asks Eos, why do you scae me with your tears? Her silent weeping frightens him. And why do her tears make him tremble?

In days far-off, on that dark earth, be true? / ‘The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts.’- It is so because he remembers hearing long, long ago, back in his life on earth: “The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts.” He is afraid that there is no way for Eos to take back what she has given. Eos is helpless. Her terrible gift of immortality. The gift that was granted as casually as if she were flipping Tithonus a quarter turns out to be irredeemable. It cannot be made correct. He knows he’s heard someone say this-sometime-somewhere-in his life back on the “dark earth.” Why dark earth? Because for him, life on earth seems to be very distant, it might as well have been someone else’s. The earth where he belonged previously. Now, here, there is a possibility that Eos herself must have told him this. Perhaps back when they were first getting to know each other, when neither of them knew how terrible a divine gift would eventually become.

Question Suggestion-

You can be asked- What does the line- The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts suggets?

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— Now from moving away from this terrible thought of Eos not being able to help him, he turns back to the happy times when the two of them had got together. The “days far-off”, it shows that he has lived quite a very long life. So the couple’s joyful young love now seems to him so distant that they might as well have happened to a different person. He is remembering the old days and wondering if he is the same person who used to be so deeply in love with his beloved.

The lucid outline forming round thee; saw/ The dim curls kindle into sunny rings- Tithonus further says that back in the days, in the mornings, as the “lucid outline” means that glowing halo of light, that used to form around Eos’s body. And as Eos’s “dim curls kindled into sunny rings”-that is, as her hair began to shine with sunlight, as if “kindling” into flame. He didn’t just watch it, he shared in her transformation, or
felt as if he did. He felt the most alive then.

Changed with thy mystic change, and felt my blood / Glow with the glow that slowly crimson’d all/ Thy presence and thy portals – He changed with her mystic change. He felt his blood glow with that glow that crimsoned all, meaning the light which spread all over the world. He basked in the reflected glory of Eos and felt as if he was a part of it. When he was young, he felt as if he, like Eos, was reborn to new delight every morning, and always would be.

Question Suggestion-

Here you can be asked-How does Tithonus describe the beauty of Aurora?

10. Poem

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.

Explanation

while I lay, /Mouth, forehead, eyelids, growing dewy-warm / With kisses balmier than half-opening buds /Of April- Tithonus reminiscences that back in the days, Eos didn’t weep over his shriveled body in the mornings, she didn’t cry over his withering body. Instead, as she embraced him, he felt his: Mouth, forehead, eyelids, growing dewy-warm/ With kisses balmier than half-opening buds of April. Now this similie here suggests that the young couple’s kisses felt as beautiful as the earliest days of spring. The flowers are mentioned here as half-opening because it implies that they have their whole blossoming lives ahead of them. The imagery of kisses, “balmier” even than those buds means it felt like a sensuous bliss. The word “balmy” means warmth.

and could hear the lips that kiss’d/ Whispering I knew not what of wild and sweet – So the yung couple’s embraces, it not just satisfied his senses of sight, touch, taste and smell, but it also satisfied his sense of hearing. He remembers that when Eos kissed him, she would whisper to him. The words that were “wild and sweet”. And these words were spoken in some divine language which he couldn’t understand.

Like that strange song I heard Apollo sing/ While Ilion like a mist rose into towers- So Tithonus couldn’t understand the language it reminded him of the song he once had heard Apollo sing. Apollo, is said to be the God of the music and the sun. He is referring to the legend, that once God Apollo, he used an enchanted song to raise the wall of Ilion, also known as Troy- the great city of which Tithonus was the Prince. So this is what he is referring to here in these lines. These walls of Ilios was supposed to be unbreakable. And the towers it looked as if they rose from the mist.

11. Poem

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.

Explanation

So now what happens is that Tithonus’s sweet and sensual memories of his and Eos’s young love now seem to grow too painful to tolerate. He gets back to his old plea- Yet hold me not for ever in thine East. It means that he is saying Eos, please don’t hold me forever in your East. He requests to let him go, to release him from her, and her immortal world of dawn, into an ordinary human death.

He asks her in a sad, mournful, and in a complaining kind of way that- How can my nature longer mix with thine? He is eternal age, and she is eternal beauty, so how can their nature mix, right? He asks how long can his nature, that is neither a mortal, nor an immortal, mix with hers, that is being immortal. Now he is not able to tolerate to be what he has become. A creature neither with mortality, nor immortality, especially alongside Eos’s true divinity, her eternal youth and vigour.

It was only for a moment that Tithonus escaped into his beautiful memories of youth, but then realuty returns now. And this reality now feels even more cruel after this short moment of respite, the short moment of relief. He says- Coldly thy rosy shadows bathe me, cold / Are all thy lights, and cold my wrinkled feet/ Upon thy glimmering thresholds. It means that Tithonus, he does not feel for Eos the same way as he used to in his youth. Her rosy shadows, her glow, the light of dawn, that once used to give him warmth and joy, now feels cold to him. He no longer enjoys them as he used to before. Her light now, it feels like a cold bath to him that wrinkles his cold feet.

Question Suggestion-

Here you can be asked- What is the impact of Tithonus’s immortality on his relationship with Aurora?

Upon thy glimmering thresholds, when the steam / Floats up from those dim fields about the homes- Now he observes the steam that is rising up from the homes of men on earth. The world of which he used to be a part. Upon your glimmering, your shining thresholds, thresholds mean the ground at the entrance to a room or building. So he watches the steam floating up, and feels and thinks that it is a privilege to be a mortal. He calls men, the “happy men” because they have the power to die. He sees it as an ability and a blessing.

And grassy barrows of the happier dead- Preferably even to the lives of those mortal “happy men” are
the fates of the “happier dead” beneath their “grassy barrows, or grave mounds. Here grass growing
over those graves suggests his longing for death. The bodies beneath those barrows are becoming grass, being absorbed back into the world. They are not going to live forever but, they are going to start a life again and differently. So basically, Tithonus wants to be part of things again.

12. Poem

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.

Explanation

So now for the last time, again, Tithonus begs Eos. He makes a desperate request to her- Release me, and restore me to the ground. Remember, in the beginning of the poem, he was talking about the weeping clouds and dying swans. So in the same sense, he wants to be released. He wants the burden of being immortal to be lifted. He wants to be restored on the earth. It will be like a healing for him. He wants to go back to the dirt from which he came, like the happy dead beneath their “grassy barrows.” He wants to become a pat of the cycle of life and death.

Thou seëst all things, thou wilt see my grave- He says Eos that you have seen everything around you. So if you will free me of this immortality, if you will free me from this unbearable pain and let me die, then you will see my grave. You will get to see me every day. It is not that you will have to say me goodbye forever. But infact you will get to see me everyday, you will see the grass that will grow on my grave. But we know that Eos is powerless here. Even Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts. It is mentioned in the original myth, that the best Eos can do is to transform him into a cricket

Thou wilt renew thy beauty morn by morn/ I earth in earth forget these empty courts – He says that you will renew your beauty every day, every morning. And you know why? Right? Because she has eternal youth. He says you will have a fresh beginning every day. And he imagines himself becoming earth in earth, which means dying and getting buried in the earth. Whereas she will return on her silver wheels, the chariot of Eos. In the closing lines, Tithonus doesn’t just want to escape the “empty courts” of the heavens; the vast space is just meaningless to him. He wants to die peacefully and fade into the earth. So in these final lines, Tithonus again requests to be freed. He laments over the fact that Eos will renew every day, and that particular thing will remind him of his immortality and aging, because he can only age. He wants to forget everything, even her lover.

And thee returning on thy silver wheels- And the last line where he mentions that, and you will be returning on your silver wheels contrasts with the cruel truth of aging of Tithonus. She will renew every day, but he will age forever.