broken and lonely She sits alone in a valley and cries Nature also seems sad with her Oenone cries My eyes are full of tears my heart of love My heart is breaking These lines show her deep sorrow Tennyson uses this myth to show how betrayal hurts people He also shows how one selfish decision can bring great destruction Paris s choice does not only destroy love It also leads to war and suffering Through this legend Tennyson teaches that wrong choices bring regret and pain The Lotos-Eaters Desire to Escape from Life In The Lotos-Eaters Tennyson retells a part of Homer s Odyssey Odysseus s sailors reach an island where people eat lotus flowers After eating them the sailors forget their duty and want to stay there forever They sing Our island homeIs far beyond the wave we will no longer roam Tennyson changes this myth into a poem about tired people The sailors are exhausted by storms wars and hard journeys They want rest sleep and peace Through this story Tennyson asks an important question Is it wrong to escape from pain and hard work This poem reflects Victorian life During that time people worked long hours in factories Like the sailors people wanted rest Thus Tennyson uses an old myth to show a modern problem Tithonus The Sorrow of Immortality Tithonus is based on another Greek myth Tithonus falls in love with Aurora the goddess of dawn Tithonus asks for eternal life but forgets to ask for eternal youth The gods grant his wish so he grows older and older but never dies He sadly says I wither slowly in thine arms Aurora stays young and beautiful but Tithonus becomes helpless Through this myth Tennyson shows that eternal life is not a blessing Old age and death are natural Tennyson teaches that human desire should have limits Locksley Hall A Modern Legend Locksley Hall is not based on an ancient myth But it feels like a legend The speaker tells his sad love story He loves his cousin Amy But Amy marries a rich man because her father wants money and status The speaker cries O my Amy mine no more He feels angry and broken Yet he also dreams of a better future with science peace and progress This poem becomes a modern legend because it talks about universal human feelings love jealousy pain and hope Purpose of Using Myths and Legends Tennyson used myths to explain deep ideas in a simple way These stories help readers understand emotions easily Love betrayal tiredness fear of old age everything becomes clearer through stories In conclusion Tennyson did not use myths only to repeat old stories He gave them new life and meaning Tennyson s use of legends and myths makes his poetry emotional meaningful and unforgettable