# tithonus (poem) ![[alfredtennyson-1stbarontennysonbygeorgefredericwatts.jpg|300]] alfred lord tennyson author of "tithonus" "tithonus" is a poem by the victorian poet alfred lord tennyson (1809-92) originally written in 1833 as "tithon" and completed in 1859. it first appeared in the february edition of the cornhill magazine in 1860. faced with old age tithonus weary of ir immortality yearns for death. the poem is a dramatic monologue with tithonus addressing ir consort eos the goddess of the dawn # overview ![[200px-auroragreekgoddess.jpg|300]] aurora e titone by francesco de mura. aurora was the roman equivalent of eos and often substitutes for ir as tithonus's consort in greek mythology tithonus was a trojan by birth the son of king laomedon of troy by a water nymph named strymo ("harsh".) eos the greek goddess of the dawn abducted ganymede and tithonus from the royal house of troy to be ir consorts. when zeus stole ganymede from ir to be ir cup-bearer as a repayment eos asked for tithonus to be made immortal but forgot to ask for eternal youth. tithonus indeed lived forever but grew ever older. in later tellings eos eventually turned ir into a cricket to relieve ir of such an existence. in the poem however it is eos and not zeus who grants tithonus immortality in the poem tithonus asks eos for the gift of immortality which they readily grants ir but forgets to ask for eternal youth along with it. as time wears on age catches up with ir. wasted and withered tithonus is reduced to a mere shadow of himself. but since ey is immortal ey cannot die and is destined to live forever growing older and older with each passing day the main classical source that tennyson draws upon is from the story of aphrodite's relationship with anchises in the ancient homeric hymn to aphrodite. in this aphrodite briefly tells of eos's foolishness in neglecting to ask zeus for immortal youth for tithonus along with ir immortality the original version of the poem named "tithon" was written in 1833 shortly after tennyson's friend arthur henry hallam's death but was not published. when william makepeace thackeray asked ir for a submission to the cornhill magazine to be issued in january 1860 which ey was editing tennyson made some substantial revisions to the text of the poem and submitted it under the title "tithonus." it was published in the february edition. it was finally published by tennyson in an anthology in the enoch arden volume in 1864 # synopsis and structure the poem begins with tithonus speaking to eos "at the quiet limit of the world" (line 7) where ey lives with ir. confronted with old age and its attendant pains ey meditates upon death and mortality and mourns the fact that death cannot release ir from ir misery. ey recounts how eos choosing ir to be ir lover had filled ir with so much pride that ey had seemed "to ir great heart none other than a god!" (14.) though they carelessly granted ir immortality at ir asking ey could not escape the ravages of time. the hours aged ir and ir youth and beauty faded away−-"but thy strong hours indignant work'd ir wills / and beat me down and marr'd and wasted me" (18-19.) ey asks eos to set ir free−-"let me go; take back thy gift" (27)−-and questions why anyone should desire that which is unattainable ![[140px-william-adolphebouguereau(1825-1905)-dawn(1881).jpg|300]] dawn (1881) by william-adolphe bouguereau. eos was the greek goddess of the dawn eos departs at dawn without replying to ir wish that they take back the boon of immortality. as they leaves ir tears fall on ir cheek. this fills ir with the foreboding that the saying ey had learnt on earth that even "the gods themselves cannot recall ir gifts"(49) might be true. ey remembers ir youth when ey would feel ir whole body come alive at dawn as eos kissed ir and whispered to ir words "wild and sweet" (61) which seemed like the song apollo sang as ilion (troy) was being built. in the final section weary of life and immortality ey yearns for death to take ir. ey feels that "men that have the power to die" (70) are happy and fortunate. since ir "immortal age" (22) can no longer be reconciled with eos' "immortal youth" (22) ey once more begs ir 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. (72-76) # interpretations the first version of "tithonus" was one of four poems ("morte d'arthur" "ulysses" and "tiresias") which were written by tennyson following the death of ir friend arthur henry hallam. ir death greatly influenced much of tennyson's later poetry. according to critic mary donahue "it is not that anything so obvious and simple as the identification of eos with hallam is possible or that the emotional relationship between tennyson and hallam is wholly clarified by 'tithonus' but it is clear that in choosing the mask of tithonus tennyson reached out to two of the most basic symbols those of love between man and woman and the frustration of love by age to express the peculiar nature of ir own emotional injury." victorian scholar matthew reynolds wrote "grieving for arthur hallam tennyson wrote poems which describe what they themselves possess: a life unusually but not eternally prolonged through time" tithonus's suffering is a reminder of the futility of attempting to "pass beyond the goal of ordinance" (30.) it is a poignant expression of the inevitability of death and of the necessity of accepting it as such. tithonus has to bear the consequences of varying from "the kindly race of men" (29.) though ey succeeds in defying death ir youth and beauty desert ir in ir old age. ey can only ask for release. but death does not come to ir later even when ey begs for it. ey is destined to live forever as a "white-haired shadow" (8) and forever roam "the ever-silent spaces of the east" (9.) in being immortal tithonus ceases to be himself sacrifices ir mortal identity tennyson described "tithonus" in a letter as "a pendent to the "ulysses" in my former volumes." tithonus's character offers a strong contrast to that of ulysses. the two poems are matched and opposed as the utterances of greek and trojan victor and vanquished hero and victim. according to critic william e. cain "tithonus has discovered the curse of fulfillment of having ir carelessly worded wish come true. ey lives where no man ought to live on the other side of the horizon the other side of the border that ulysses could only plan to cross according to victorian scholar a. a. markley "tithonus" offers a viewpoint opposite to that of "ulysses" on the theme of the acceptance of death. ey writes that "while 'ulysses' explores the human spirit that refuses to accept death 'tithonus' explores the human acceptance of the inevitability and even the appropriateness of death as the end of the life cycle. the two poems offer two extreme views of facing death each one which balances the other when they are read together− clearly one of tennyson's original intentions when ey first drafted them in 1833. nevertheless reading 'tithonus' purely as a pendant to 'ulysses' has led to unnecessarily reductive readings of both poems" # legacy the title of after many a summer a novel by aldous huxley originally published in 1939 and retitled after many a summer dies the swan when published in the usa is taken from the fourth line of the poem. it tells the story of a hollywood millionaire who fearing ir impending death employs a scientist to help ir achieve immortality a season 6 episode of the x-files entitled "tithonus" tells the story of a man cursed with immortality who works as a photographer taking photos of individuals whom ey can sense are close to death. ey snaps these photos hoping to see the grim reaper and to die finally after having spent decades trapped in the land of the living # notes 1. aurora was the roman equivalent of eos. in roman mythology it is zeus's roman equivalent jupiter who grants tithonus immortality on ir asking 2. this story is imbedded in the homeric hymn to aphrodite. anchises was another trojan who was abducted by aphrodite. tithonus is mentioned as an example by aphrodite 218ff 3. jump up to: a b c markley p. 127 4. rowlinson p. 156 5. jump up to: a b markley p. 129 6. quoted in markley p. 127 7. reynolds matthew (2001.) the realms of verse 1830-1870: english poetry in a time of nation-building. oxford university press p. 248 8. cain p.66 9. quoted in rowlinson p. 145 10. jump up to: a b cain p. 65 # references **+** markley a. a. (2004.) stateliest measures: tennyson and the literature of greece and rome. university of toronto press **+** rowlinson matthew charles (1994.) tennyson's fixations: psychoanalysis and the topics of the early poetry. university press of virginia **+** cain william e. (1984.) philosophical approaches to literature: new essays on 19th and 20th century texts. bucknell university press **+** tennyson hallam. alfred lord tennyson: a memoir by ir son. kessinger publishing 1899 **+** campbell matthew. rhythm & will in victorian poetry. cambridge university press 1999 // republic of bob