This Petrarchan sonnet of 15 lines begins as a lyric contemplation of the Norwegian sea-beast of Scandinavian mythology; but it evolves into an association of the beast with other mythological representations of invisible yet vast, destructive forces that would devour from below or swallow sojourners on the seas of everyday life. In a broader sense, then, and by means of the mythological representation, the poem may be understood as a contemplation of ideology and blind allegiances to the status quo—which lose their destructive powers only when they are recognized for what they are.
“Tithonus” is a dramatic monologue that imagines the once
handsome, magnificent Trojan prince to be well-advanced in an unfortunate state
brought about by negligent gods and his own lack of foresight. Exultant over the blessings of his youth,
he’d asked Aurora, goddess of the dawn, for eternal life, and she had obtained
Zeus’s permission to grant the request.
But Tithonus had failed to ask for eternal youth with his immortality—and
neither Aurora nor Zeus had managed to recognize that this feature of the
request might be important—so that Tithonus spends eternity growing
increasingly decrepit. In Tennyson’s
poem, Tithonus addresses Aurora, hoping he might persuade her to reassign him
his mortal status and allow him to die.
