Death in Life in the Poetry of Alfred Lord TennysonAlfred Lord Tennyson, a Victorian poet, used characters from history and mythology for his poetry. Much of his poetry addresses the theme of death and loneliness. For example, the Lady of the Shallot dies when she looks beyond her inner world, Mariana lives in constant sadness because of her deceased lover, and Tithon lives forever in agony worse than death. Against a backdrop of melancholy, isolation or anguish, Tennyson conveys the themes of half-life and death in life using images, symbolism and figures of speech. In the dramatic monologue "Tithonus", Tennyson explains to the reader that immortality is not necessarily a desirable thing since Tithonus attempts to convince Aurora to make him mortal again. In the poem, Tithon asks Aurora to grant him immortality, which she does. Although in current mythology Zeus grants immortality, it is immortality and not eternal youth that Tithon receives. Consequently, he "slowly withered" and met a fate worse than death as many jealous gods "beat, spoiled and devastated me." Tithon presents the natural cycle of life followed by death by describing how first “man comes,” then he “plows the fields,” and finally “lies beneath.” However, his "cruel immortality" prevents him from following the same pattern. The Rhetorical Question: “Why should any man desire in any way/deviate from the benevolent human race…as is best for all?” indicates his awareness of the absurdity of asking for immortal life. His wish to be immortal like the gods can be interpreted as an allusion to Adam and Eve's desire to know God. Regardless, like a "sweet air parts the clouds" (personification), Tithon sees the "dark world" he finds himself in... middle of paper......document 1). Mariana lives in her own world, still believing that her lover will come, believing that "old faces shone through the doors", and disconcerted by "the slow tick of the clock and the sound/that, apart of the wind wooing/the poplar made. » As these three poems, “Tithonus,” “Lady of Shallot,” and “Mariana in the Moated Grange,” show, Tennyson often depicts the world as a sad place. Often, as in “Tithonus” and “Lady of the Shallot,” there is a conflict between wishes and desires. Additionally, Tennyson often uses the external environment to intensify the emotions experienced by the characters. In short, Tennyson is able to convey his themes of half-life and death in life through the use of imagery, symbolism, and figures of speech.Bibliography:1. http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/tennyson2. http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/tennyson/losillus1.html