die Tithonus laments I wither slowly in thine arms This teaches us that desiring something without understanding its consequences can lead to misery Tithonus s wish for eternal life turned into a curse Tennyson warns us Don t let greed or pride blind you Death Is Part of Life s Natural Cycle In the poem Tithonus watches trees grow wither and die Swans grow old and pass away Even the grass dies in winter and comes back in spring But Tithonus cannot die he is stuck outside this cycle Tithonus recognizes his immortality as cruel Me only cruel immortality Tennyson uses this to show that death is not something to fear It is a natural end that gives life meaning The poet suggests humans need to accept death as part of the beauty of existence Love Has Limits Tithonus s lover Aurora gave him immortality because she loved him But her love could not stop him from aging This shows that even the strongest love cannot control nature or fate Love is powerful but it cannot fix everything Tennyson reminds us that love should respect boundaries not try to change what is impossible Eternal Life Is Not a Blessing A Prison Tithonus describes himself as a white-haired shadow who feels like a crumbled leaf clinging to a tree He is tired weak and lonely He describes himself as A white-hair'd shadow roaming like a dream Tennyson uses these images to argue that living forever is not a gift it is a trap Without death life loses its joy Death gives life rhythm and rest Happiness Comes from Accepting Limits Tithonus spends the poem begging Aurora to take back his immortality Let me go take back thy gift However gods goddesses cannot take back their gifts Tithonus realizes too late that true peace comes from accepting life s limits Tennyson wants us to see that chasing endless youth or power won t make us happy Instead we should cherish the time we have We should accept life s natural cycle We should not disrespect life s natural cycle To wrap up Tithonus is a sad but important poem It teaches us to think carefully about our desires and respect nature s rules including death Here Tennyson is not just telling a myth he is asking us to reflect on our own lives Are we wasting time wishing for things that might harm us