Ulysses described the narrator’s desire to “strive, to seek, to find and not to yield,” but one detects a sense of melancholy, in that the images of stasis overpower those of action, which are superficial at best – they represent an urge rather than real intention. When we look at this urge more closely, we see that its inability to be fulfilled leads to a sense of loss, and a figure like Tithonus emerges. The constant desire for posterity and exploration eats away at Tithonus and Tennyson represents this as a curse of sorts: the myth upon which the character of Tithonus is based says that Tithonus, in an effort to stay with his wife Aurora, asks Zeus for immortality but forgets to ask for immortal youth, and is left to live forever, slowly deteriorating in health. In the poem, I believe that Tithonus’ desire for immortality is a metaphor for man’s desire to keep up with nature’s continuity and beauty. Yet man forgets that, “The woods decay,” and by claiming exemption from death one brings about tragedy.
However brutal the “Hours indignant” are, however, there is some beauty in Tithonus’s words, because they are spoken by a dying man – when he says “after many a summer dies the swan,” he can only look on longingly at the death, and later he asks to join the “happier dead.” As in Mariana, there is a thought that alleviation of pain can only come about through destruction, Tithonus knows his final plea is hopeless, as, ‘“The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts”,’ yet he continues to speak because he wallows in the self-pity and suffering.
I think that this is a result of Tennyson’s post-Romantic attitude: moving on from conventional Romantic poetry that looks at the worth of the individual, Tithonus, as a post-romantic poem, looks at this fallacy, showing us the consequences of trying to surpass the fading “arch” described in Ulysses. Tithonus is of course a self-obsessed character, and there are mythological and medieval allusions so the poem has Romantic aspects but the tone of the poem is darker. The mythological allusions enhance the poem greatly, as they add a layer of depth to an otherwise simplistic poem: as in Mariana and Ulysses, by using characters from literature or folklore the character study becomes clearer, as Tithonus already possesses a history that Tennyson exploits.
Tithonus describes himself as a silhouette, calling himself a “white-hair’d shadow,” and says, “rosy shadows bathe me.” This image is particularly important, because it suggests that he has somehow assimilated himself with nature, blending into the sky but the true nature of the comparison emerges when his suffering is described. The image in fact shows his insignificance and slow deterioration, as he is left, like a cloud, with little physical presence. The pain is concealed by the “rosy” tint but the abundance of questions and long stanzas in the poem convey a despondent, weary tone. The silence that pervades the poem also compounds this effect: we do not hear the swan’s music, and the quiet, “soft air” replaces the wind described in Ulysses. Aurora grows more beautiful “in silence” and only one reference to sound is made, when Tithonus mentions, “that strange song I heard Apollo sing.” The use of the past tense immediately distances this music, and it is then juxtaposed with the “mist” which seems to carry a sense of calm – the contrast leaves us with Tithonus’ longing for the music that once filled his mind. The past, like the mist, is a fading memory, and Tithonus sees himself as a new person: the third person pronoun is used in the second stanza, showing a detachment of mind and body, with Tithonus barley able to recall the days when he was mortal.
Throughout the poem the pronouns I and thee are separated structurally, echoing the tragic situation, and even when the Tithonus says “I wither slowly in thine arms,” the phrase “wither slowly in” separates the two words representing the lovers. The suggestion seems to be that the bonds that connect them have themselves withered, as the line’s meter and sentence structure are inconsistent with the rest of the stanza. The tragedy has come about, of course, as a result of Tithonus’ naïve belief that he “seem’d/ To his great heart none other than a God.” The Gods oblige “with a smile,” and leave Tithonus suffering, in the ultimately futile thought that “thou wilt see my grave.”