Tithonus - Alfred, Lord Tennyson
A Mortal’s Plea Against Eternal Dawn
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, though 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 through 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 forever 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 seest 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.
In Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem “Tithonus,” the speaker is an ancient figure from Greek mythology who has been granted immortality but not eternal youth. Once beloved by Aurora, the goddess of dawn, Tithonus has physically decayed over countless years, forced to linger in a half-alive, aged state. Tennyson reshapes the myth into a poignant meditation on the human experience: the pain of outliving one’s capacity for joy or purpose, and the agonizing separation from the natural cycle of life and death.
Tennyson begins the poem with imagery of decay—"The woods decay, the woods decay and fall"—instantly contrasting Tithonus’s permanent condition with the natural world’s constant renewal. Mortals live and die, yet Tithonus remains, trapped in an ever-present twilight. His greatest lament stems from having once been “glorious” and godlike, only to be "maim'd" by unrelenting time. This stark gap between the goddess Aurora’s undying vitality and his own withered existence fosters ongoing despair.
A striking aspect of this poem is Tennyson’s emphasis on regret over the character’s original wish for immortality. Tithonus petitions Aurora to “take back thy gift,” revealing that a never-ending life absent youthful vigor becomes a curse instead of a blessing. The eternal sunrise—once a spectacle—now highlights Tithonus’s stasis and distance from the dynamic transformations of mortals. In this sense, “Tithonus” resonates with a Romantic-era preoccupation with boundaries—life and death, mortal and divine, passion and detachment—and with Tennyson’s broader concern with time, loss, and longing.
Stylistically, the poem employs a fluid blank verse, inviting readers to drift along Tithonus’s introspective monologue. The classical allusions (e.g., referencing Apollo and Ilion) blend seamlessly with personal expressions of sorrow. Tennyson uses sensory details—mentioning Tithonus’s cold wrinkled feet or Aurora’s warm rosy light—to heighten the tension between an immortal figure’s yearning for mortal release and the goddess’s perpetual dawn.
Moreover, the poem challenges readers to contemplate a fundamental irony: Tithonus achieved the seemingly ultimate boon—life without end—but only discovered that natural finality is crucial to the experience of being fully human. By capturing a godlike vantage point, Tennyson underscores how time and mortality give depth and meaning to life. Without an endpoint, Tithonus is deprived of the relief and purpose that come from death’s inherent closure.
Ultimately, “Tithonus” speaks to the nuanced relationship between eternity and desire. In seeking to escape death, Tithonus has also lost his place in the mortal cycle of renewal, living out a wish turned monstrous. As a cautionary tale, the poem highlights the dread of stagnation, showing that growth, change, and eventual endings allow life’s beauty to resonate. Tennyson’s artistry—layering myth, lyricism, and philosophical reflection—yields an enduring examination of why the limited span of human existence can, paradoxically, be its most precious gift.
Key points
• Reworks the Greek myth of Tithonus, cursed with immortality but not eternal youth.
• Contrasts perpetual aging and decline with nature’s cyclical renewal.
• Explores the uneasy balance between mortality and the allure of living forever.
• Highlights Tennyson’s recurring themes of time, regret, and cosmic order.
• Demonstrates the poet’s mastery of blank verse and lyrical mythmaking.