Tithonus Question Answers (Important) | ISC Class 12 English Rhapsody Book

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Tithonus-ImpQns

ISC Class 12 English Poem Tithonus Important Question Answers from Rhapsody book

 

ISC Class 12 English Tithonus Question Answers – Looking for questions and answers for ISC Class 12 English Rhapsody Book Poem Tithonus? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practising Class 12 English question answers can significantly improve your performance in the exam. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring ISC Class 12 English Poem Tithonus now. The questions listed below are based on the latest ISC exam pattern. All the Questions Answers given at the back of the lesson have also been covered. 

 

 

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ISC Class 12 English Poem Tithonus Textbook Questions 

 

ASSIGNMENT

Question 1
Choose the correct options for the following questions:

1. How do the vapours weep their burthen’?
(a) The clouds burst on the hills
(b) The vapours dissolve in the sea
(c) The clouds dissolve into rain
(d) None of the above
Ans. (c) The clouds dissolve into rain

2. Who is consuming ‘Me’ in the first stanza of the poem?
(a) Pride
(b) Immortality
(c) Mortality
(d) Beauty
Ans. (b) Immortality

3. In whose arms is the speaker withering?
(a) His beloved’s
(b) His own
(c) Death
(d) None of the above
Ans. (a) His beloved’s

4. What is referred to by the ‘quiet limit of the world’?
(a) The eastern horizon
(b) The home of Goddess, Eos
(c) The end of human life
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Ans. (d) Both (a) and (b)

5. What is the tone of the poem, ‘Tithonus’?
(a) Epigrammatic
(b) Elegiac
(c) Epistolary
(d) None of the above
Ans. (b) Elegiac

6. Which type of poetry is used in the poem, ‘Tithonus’?
(a) Sonnet
(b) Ode
(c) Ballad
(d) Dramatic Monologue
Ans. (d) Dramatic Monologue

7. Who is the one in the poem, who ‘lies beneath’?
(a) Cockroach
(b) Dead man
(c) Grasshopper
(d) All of the above
Ans. (b) Dead man

8. What is suggested by ‘A white-hair’d shadow roaming like a dream’?
(a) An insignificant dream
(b) Moon light
(c) Man’s shadow
(d) None of the above
Ans. (d) None of the above

9. What does the poet bemoan as he looks at earth?
(a) The suffering of man
(b) The death of all things
(c) His immortality
(d) None of the above
Ans. (c) His immortality

10. Where is he now, who is described as ‘once a man’?
(a) In the forest
(b) In the sky
(c) In the vapours
(d) In the sea
Ans. (b) In the sky

11. Who is described in line – ‘So glorious in his beauty’?
(a) God of Sky
(b) God of Dawn
(c) The Prince of Trojan
(d) The Prince of Rome
Ans. (c) The Prince of Trojan

12. Who among the following has been compared with ‘wealthy men’ in the poem?
(a) Tithonus
(b) Eos
(c) Zeus
(d) None of the above
Ans. (b) Eos

13. Who are referred to as ‘they’ in the line given below?
And tho’ they could not end me, left me maim’d
(a) The Gods
(b) Time
(c) Nature
(d) None of the above
Ans. (b) Time

14. What ‘amends’ does the speaker ask Eos to make?
(a) To answer her questions
(b) Not to weep at his condition
(c) To take back her gift of immortality
(d) To gift her immortal youth
Ans. (c) To take back her gift of immortality

15. Where does the speaker want to go?
(a) To his home
(b) To a place where all are immortal
(c) To Earth
(d) To heaven
Ans. (c) To Earth

16. Which figure of speech is used in the line given below? ‘Whispering I knew not what of wild and sweet’
(a) Allusion
(b) Alliteration
(c) Metaphor
(d) Simile
Ans. (b) Alliteration

17. In the line-Thy presence and thy portals’, who is referred by Thy’?
(a) The goddess of dawn
(b) Tithonus
(c) God Apollo
(d) None of the above
Ans. (a) The goddess of dawn

18. What is referred to by the speaker as the ‘dark world”?
(a) Heaven
(b) Underground
(c) The earth
(d) None of the above
Ans. (c) The earth

Question 2
Complete the following sentences by providing a reason for each in brief:
1. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker says that ‘Me only cruel immortality/consumes’ because ………………
Ans. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker says that ‘Me only cruel immortality/consumes’ because he is the only being who is trapped in a state of eternal decay, unlike everything else in nature which follows a natural cycle of death and renewal.

2. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker has defined his immortality as cruel because …………
Ans. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker has defined his immortality as cruel because it was granted without the gift of eternal youth, forcing him to suffer and decay forever while being unable to die and find peace.

3. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker says that he was ‘once a man’ because …………
Ans. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker says that he was ‘once a man’ because he is no longer truly human; he has been reduced to a ‘white-hair’d shadow’ or a ‘gray shadow’ due to the relentless aging process of his immortal body.

4. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker says that Eos chose him as her beloved because …………………
Ans. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker says that Eos chose him as her beloved because he was a mortal man ‘so glorious in his beauty’ that he seemed like a god to her.

5. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker asks Eos to take back her gift of immortality because ……………………
Ans. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker wants to go back to Earth because he longs for the peace and finality of death, envying the ‘happier dead’ who are buried there and can forget their struggles.

6. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker wants to go back to Earth because ………………
Ans. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker wants to go back to Earth because he longs for the peace and finality of death, envying the ‘happier dead’ who are buried there and can forget their struggles.

7. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker says that men should not pass beyond the ‘goal of ordinance’ because …………………
Ans. In the poem, Tithonus, the speaker says that men should not pass beyond the ‘goal of ordinance’ because it is the natural order for all living things to die, and going against this law only leads to unnatural and prolonged suffering.

8. Tithonus implores Eos to let him go because ……………………
Ans. Tithonus implores Eos to let him go because he can no longer bear his immortal age and decay while living beside her immortal youth and beauty, and he wishes for the release that only death can provide.

9. Tithonus says, ‘And all I was in, ashes’ because …………………
Ans. Tithonus says, ‘And all I was, in ashes’ because he is using a metaphor to express that his former self, his youth, glory, and beauty has been completely destroyed and is now gone forever, leaving only the remnants of his old self.

10. Tithonus says that it is not proper for a human being to go against the laws of nature because ………………
Ans. Tithonus says that it is not proper for a human being to go against the laws of nature because the natural cycle of life and death is ‘most meet for all’,and defying it has resulted in his own miserable, prolonged existence.

11. Eos has tears in her eyes when she sees the miserable condition of Tithonus because …………………
Ans. Eos has tears in her eyes when she sees the miserable condition of Tithonus because she loves him and is saddened by his suffering, yet she is helpless to reverse the gift of immortality she bestowed upon him.

12. Tithonus envies people who live on the earth because …………………
Ans. Tithonus envies people who live on the earth because they have the power to die and find peace in death, which he believes is a kind and natural release from the hardships of life.

13. Tithonus could not go back to earth as for his wish because …………………
Ans. Tithonus could not go back to earth as for his wish because an old saying, which he believes is true, states that ‘The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts’, meaning Aurora is powerless to take back the immortality she gave him.

14. Tithonus towards the end of the poem laments that his nature can no longer mix with that of Eos because ……………………
Ans. Tithonus towards the end of the poem laments that his nature can no longer mix with that of Eos because his mortal, decaying body and weary soul are fundamentally incompatible with her divine, eternally youthful, and beautiful nature.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
Answer the questions briefly in about 100-150 words.

1. What does the speaker want to suggest by giving the examples of the woods’ and ‘the vapours’? Why?
Ans. By giving the examples of the woods’ decay and the vapours weeping their burden as rain, the speaker, Tithonus, wants to suggest that decay, death, and renewal are natural and kind processes in the world. The woods decay and fall, but new life emerges. The vapours weep their rain, which then nourishes the ground. He gives these examples to highlight the stark contrast with his own existence. Unlike these natural phenomena, which have a purpose and a finite end, he is trapped in an unending state of decay with no release. This serves to emphasize the cruelty of his immortality, which has removed him from the natural, peaceful cycle of life and death that everything else, even inanimate objects and weather, seems to follow.

2. Who is being consumed in the poem by ‘cruel immortality’? Explain how is he being consumed?
Ans. The speaker, Tithonus, is the one being consumed by cruel immortality. He is consumed in a very specific and painful way. While he has been granted eternal life, he was not given eternal youth. As a result, the relentless passage of time continues to work on his body, causing him to age, wither, and decay without the possibility of death. He describes himself as being ‘beat me down and marr’d and wasted’, left ‘maim’d’ and with his former glorious self in ashes. He is being consumed by the slow, irreversible decay of his body, trapped in an unending process of aging while his mind remains a witness to his own physical ruin.

3. Who has been described in the poem as ‘white-hair’d shadow roaming like a dream’? Why?
Ans. The speaker, Tithonus, describes himself as a ‘white-hair’d shadow roaming like a dream’. He uses this powerful imagery to convey his current state of existence. ‘White-hair’d’ signifies his extreme old age. He is a shadow because he has lost his physical substance and vitality; he is a mere remnant of the glorious man he once was, existing in the background of Aurora’s vibrant world. The phrase ‘roaming like a dream’ emphasizes his detached and ghostly presence. He is not fully a part of the world anymore, but a lost, insignificant figure wandering the silent spaces of the East, his reality feeling as insubstantial and fleeting as a dream.

4. Who was ‘once a man’? What has happened to him now?
Ans. The person who was ‘once a man’ is Tithonus, a Trojan prince who was beloved by the goddess Aurora. He was once so glorious in his beauty that he seemed to her like a god. However, as a result of Aurora granting him immortality without the gift of eternal youth, he has been profoundly changed. Now, he is no longer a man in the full sense of the word. He has withered into a ‘white-hair’d shadow’, with his former beauty and strength gone. He is a living paradox, with an ‘immortal age beside immortal youth’. He exists as a decrepit, crippled immortal, his original glorious self reduced to ashes, and his human nature in conflict with his unending, decaying existence.

5. By whom was the speaker in the poem ‘chosen’ and why?
Ans. The speaker, Tithonus, was chosen by the goddess of the dawn, Eos (or Aurora). He was a mortal Trojan prince who was so extraordinarily handsome that his beauty and presence captivated her. He describes himself as ‘So glorious in his beauty and thy choice, / Who madest him thy chosen, that he seem’d / To his great heart none other than a God!’ She chose him to be her beloved companion, but in her love, she also granted his wish for immortality, leading to his tragic fate of endless aging.

6. Whom does the speaker ask to give him ‘immortality’? Why does he ask for it? How does he describe the giver of immortality after he gets it?
Ans. The speaker, Tithonus, asked the goddess of the dawn, Aurora, to give him immortality. He likely asked for it out of a powerful love for her and a desire to be with her forever, to match her divine, eternal nature. However, after receiving the flawed gift, his perspective changes. He describes the giver of immortality, Aurora, with a sense of bitterness and tragic irony. He says she granted his request with a smile, ‘Like wealthy men, who care not how they give’. This suggests that he now views her act as a thoughtless, careless gesture, one made without considering the devastating consequences of granting immortality without eternal youth.

7. What is referred to by the sentence – ‘But thy strong Hours indignant work’d their wills’? What is the effect of its work on the speaker?
Ans. The sentence ‘But thy strong Hours indignant work’d their wills’ is a personification of Time. ‘Thy strong Hours’ refers to the relentless, unstoppable passage of time. They are described as ‘indignant’ because they are acting against the unnatural gift of immortality given to a mortal. The effect of their work on the speaker, Tithonus, is profound and tragic. They ‘beat me down and marr’d and wasted me’, relentlessly aging his body. While they could not kill him, they left him ‘maim’d’ meaning crippled and decrepit. Time’s will has turned him from a beautiful man into a withered, immortal figure, destroying his physical form while leaving his consciousness trapped within it.

8. Explain briefly the discomfort suffered by Tithonus because of ‘Immortal age beside immortal youth’?
Ans. The discomfort Tithonus suffers from his ‘Immortal age beside immortal youth’ is both physical and emotional. Physically, he is a decaying, withered old man, while his beloved Aurora remains eternally young, vibrant, and beautiful. This stark contrast makes their union unnatural and painful for him, as he can no longer match her beauty or vitality. Emotionally, he is constantly reminded of his own lost glory and his tragic fate every time he sees her. He feels a deep sense of isolation, regret, and humiliation. His suffering is amplified by the fact that he is trapped forever, witnessing the endless beauty of the dawn and his lover, while his own existence is a continuous, irreversible decline.

9. Whom does the speaker ask to ‘make amends’? What amends are to be made and why?
Ans. The speaker, Tithonus, asks Aurora to make amends. The amends he wants are for her to take back her gift of immortality and release him so he can die. He asks for this because the gift, which he initially desired, has become a curse. The strong Hours have ‘marr’d and wasted’ him, leaving him as an old, decaying man, trapped in an unending, miserable existence. He longs for the peaceful finality of death, which he sees as the natural and kindly end for all men. He believes that the only way to right the terrible wrong done to him, the consequence of her thoughtless gift, is to reverse the act and allow him to follow the normal course of mortality.

10. What is referred to as the ‘dark world’? Why does the speaker want to return to this ‘dark world’?
Ans. The ‘dark world’ refers to the earth, the mortal realm where Tithonus was born. He uses this term to contrast the light-filled, ethereal world of the dawn where he now exists. He wants to return to this dark world to die. He has seen the graves of happier dead on the grassy barrows of the earth, and he longs for the same release. He feels that the cycle of life and death on Earth is a kind and natural one, and he desperately wants to be a part of it again. He believes that only by returning to the ground, can he find peace and forget his suffering and the cruel reality of his immortal age.

11. What is referred to as the wild team which loves Eos? How does the team usher in the dawn?
Ans. The ‘wild team which loves Eos’ refers to the horses that pull her chariot across the sky. These horses are a part of her divine retinue, embodying the raw, untamed energy of the dawn. The speaker says they ‘yearning for thy yoke, arise’ and ‘shake the darkness from their loosen’d manes, / And beat the twilight into flakes of fire’. This powerful imagery shows how the horses, full of energy and eagerness, are an active force in bringing about the dawn. As they get ready to start their journey, they shake off the night, and their hooves striking the twilight create the brilliant flashes of light that signal the beginning of a new day.

12. Why does not Eos grant the request of Tithonus? Why do her tears make her lover tremble?
Ans. Eos does not grant Tithonus’s request to take back her gift because she is powerless to do so. An old, unchangeable law of the gods dictates that ‘The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts’. This is why her tears make Tithonus tremble. He trembles not just from her sadness, but because her tears confirm the grim truth of this saying. They are a silent admission of her helplessness, showing that even though she loves him and is pained by his condition, she cannot reverse her own actions. Her tears signify that his suffering is a permanent and unbreakable state, a reality that fills him with a sense of terror and hopelessness.

13. Why does the speaker think that the men on earth are happy? In which condition is he in comparison to men on earth?
Ans. The speaker, Tithonus, thinks that the men on earth are happy because they have the power to die. He sees mortality not as a limitation, but as a merciful and final release from life’s struggles. He believes that death is a peaceful end, and the grassy barrows of the happier dead are a place of rest and forgetting. In comparison to these men, his condition is one of unending torment. While they experience the natural cycle of life, death, and rest, he is trapped in an eternal state of decay, forced to witness his own physical ruin without any hope of release. He is a living paradox of immortal age, a burden no mortal could ever fully comprehend.

14. Why does Tithonus want to go back to earth? What would Eos do when Tithonus would be on earth?
Ans. Tithonus wants to go back to Earth because it represents the only place where he can find rest and peace. He longs for the natural end that all other mortals experience, to be buried in the ground and to ‘earth in earth forget these empty courts’. He desires a finality that his immortal existence denies him. He believes that once he is on Earth, buried and at peace, Eos would continue her daily routine as the goddess of dawn. The poem suggests that she would ‘renew thy beauty morn by morn’ and continue ‘returning on thy silver wheels’ to bring the dawn, but he, in his grave, would no longer have to witness this painful contrast and would finally be free from his suffering.

15. Explain the meaning of:
I earth in earth forget these empty courts,
And thee returning on thy silver wheels.
Ans. This couplet expresses Tithonus’s final, desperate desire for a peaceful death and a release from his current existence. ‘I earth in earth’ is a powerful and poetic way of saying ‘I, in my mortal body, will become one with the earth’. It conveys the ultimate return to dust and the finality he so craves. The phrase suggests a profound peace found in becoming a natural part of the ground, rather than a cursed immortal. Once he is in this state, he says he will ‘forget these empty courts’, meaning he will no longer have to endure the loneliness of Aurora’s desolate palace. He will also forget ‘thee returning on thy silver wheels’, finally escaping the painful sight of her eternal youth and beauty, which so cruelly contrasts with his own state of endless decay.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
Answer the questions briefly in about 200-250 words.

1. Tithonus is a parable showing the discomfort that follows when blooming youth exists together with the extreme old age. Briefly state how the poet shows that blooming youth cannot exist together with extreme old age.
Ans. The poet demonstrates the profound discomfort of blooming youth and extreme old age existing together by creating a tragic and painful contrast between the two main characters. Tithonus, a man granted immortality, has become an old, withered figure, reduced to a ‘white-hair’d shadow’. He lives with Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, who is eternally young, vibrant, and beautiful. This physical disparity is the source of all his suffering. Tithonus constantly contrasts his own decaying body and cold, wrinkled feet with Aurora’s renewed beauty and her glowing presence. He feels his former self is in ashes, and their love, which was once passionate and joyful, has become a source of immense pain. He feels like a ghost in her magnificent world, a decaying presence next to her unending vitality. The poem also shows Aurora’s pain through her tears, which reveal her helplessness. She loves him, but she cannot fix his condition, making their relationship a perpetual state of sorrow. Their physical and emotional disconnect illustrates that such a union is unnatural and destined to cause only discomfort and tragedy.

2. Describe briefly the happiness, suffering and frustration of Tithonus.
Ans. Tithonus’s life can be divided into three distinct phases: a period of past happiness, a present of immense suffering, and a continuous state of frustration. His happiness was rooted in his former life as a glorious, beautiful man and his powerful love for Aurora. He felt like a god in her presence, experiencing passionate love and joy, and relishing in the divine light that surrounded her. His happiness was born from a perfect union of two beautiful beings. However, his present is a state of perpetual suffering. As a result of Aurora’s gift of immortality without eternal youth, he has been marr’d and wasted by the passage of time. He exists as a decrepit ‘gray shadow’, a lonely and withered figure trapped in an unending decline. His suffering is amplified by the fact that he must witness Aurora’s eternal youth and beauty, which serves as a constant reminder of his own lost glory. His frustration stems from his helplessness. He is frustrated by the thoughtlessness of Aurora’s gift, given ‘like wealthy men, who care not how they give’. His greatest frustration is with the reality that he cannot die. He begs Aurora to take back her gift, but her tears confirm his fear that even the gods cannot reverse their actions. He is trapped, forever tormented by the sight of her beauty and his own decay, with no hope of finding the peace that death would bring.

3. How does the poet carry out the theme of the futility of the desire for immortality?
Ans. The poet masterfully carries out the theme of the futility of the desire for immortality by showing how the seemingly ultimate gift becomes a devastating curse. Tithonus’s initial desire for eternal life, likely motivated by a wish to remain with his divine lover, leads directly to his tragic predicament. The poem demonstrates that without the corresponding gift of eternal youth, immortality is not a blessing but a source of unending physical decay and psychological torment. The poet uses powerful imagery and personification to convey this futility. The ‘strong Hours’, representing the passage of time, are shown to be a relentless force that ‘beat me down and marr’d and wasted me’. This illustrates that even when a god grants immortality, the natural laws of time are not completely suspended. Tithonus is trapped in a paradox: immortal but decaying, alive but lifeless. The poem concludes with the ultimate futility, the gift cannot be taken back. Tithonus’s plea to be ‘released’ is met with Aurora’s tears, confirming the old saying that ‘The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts’. This final, immutable rule proves that his initial desire was not only flawed but has led to an unchangeable state of misery, making his tragic existence a powerful warning about the dangers of desiring to alter the natural order of life and death

4. Tithonus is a dramatic monologue. Explain the characteristic elements of monologue in the poem. Also describe the elements of the poem which do not conform to the usual style of a dramatic monologue.
Ans. Tithonus is a clear example of a dramatic monologue due to several key characteristics. Firstly, it features a single speaker, Tithonus, who is the only voice we hear throughout the poem. Secondly, the speaker addresses a specific, silent listener, who is his beloved, Aurora. Although she does not speak, her presence is constantly felt through his direct address ‘thou seest all things’ and his description of her reactions, such as her ‘tremulous eyes that fill with tears’. Finally, the monologue is set at a specific, high-stakes moment, as Tithonus makes a desperate plea for death. The poem reveals his entire tragic story, his past love, and his philosophical reflections on life and death, all through his own subjective perspective. However, some elements of the poem do not entirely conform to the usual style of a dramatic monologue. While most monologues reveal a character in the midst of a dramatic event, Tithonus’s speech is more a meditation on a fixed, permanent condition. The dramatic event, his aging, has already occurred, and his plea is for an action, which is death, that the listener cannot grant. This gives the poem a more static, elegiac, and philosophical quality, as Tithonus’s primary activity is not to act but to reflect and lament. The extensive focus on memory and his nostalgic look back at his past love also gives the poem a reflective tone that is sometimes less common in more action-oriented dramatic monologues.

ISC Class 12 English Poem Tithonus Extra Question and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

Q1. What gift did Tithonus ask Aurora for?
A. Eternal youth.
B. A place among the gods.
C. Immortality.
D. The power to die and be renewed.
Ans. C. Immortality

Q2. What is the central theme of “Tithonus”?
A. The power of love to overcome all obstacles.
B. The sorrow of immortality without eternal youth.
C. The beauty and glory of the Greek gods.
D. The importance of living life to the fullest.
Ans. B. The sorrow of immortality without eternal youth

Q3. How does Tithonus describe the natural world in the first stanza?
A. It is unchanging and eternal.
B. It also suffers from the curse of immortality.
C. It follows a natural cycle of death and renewal, which he is excluded from.
D. It is a harsh and cruel place.
Ans. C. It follows a natural cycle of death and renewal, which he is excluded from

Q4. What does Tithonus mean when he says, “All I was, in ashes”?
A. He is literally turning to ashes.
B. His body has been burned.
C. His former self, his youth and glory, have completely vanished.
D. He has forgotten everything about his past.
Ans. C. His former self, his youth and glory, have completely vanished

Q5. How does Tithonus describe Aurora’s grant of immortality?
A. As a thoughtless gift, like that of wealthy men.
B. As a magical and glorious moment.
C. As a careful and loving gesture.
D. As an act of cruelty and revenge.
Ans. A. As a thoughtless gift, like that of wealthy men

Q6. What is personified in the lines, ‘thy strong Hours indignant work’d their wills, / And beat me down and marr’d and wasted me’?
A. The passage of time.
B. Aurora’s wild team of horses.
C. The power of the gods.
D. Tithonus’s own body.
Ans. A. The passage of time

Q7. Why does Tithonus envy ‘happy men that have the power to die’?
A. Because they get to return to the earth where he was born.
B. Because their lives are more exciting than his.
C. Because their mortality offers a final escape from suffering.
D. Because they are happier than the gods.
Ans. C. Because their mortality offers a final escape from suffering

Q8. What is the meaning of the phrase ‘The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts’?
A. Gods must never give gifts to mortals.
B. A god’s gift can only be taken back by another god.
C. A gift from a god cannot be undone, even by the god who gave it.
D. Gods have to be careful about what they promise.
Ans. C. A gift from a god cannot be undone, even by the god who gave it

Q9. How does Tithonus’s memory of his past love differ from his present reality?
A. In his memory, he was a god, but now he is a man.
B. In his memory, he felt vibrant and joyful, but now he is cold and withered.
C. His memory is full of regret, while his present is full of hope.
D. In his memory, he was with Aurora, but now he is alone.
Ans. B. In his memory, he felt vibrant and joyful, but now he is cold and withered

Q10. What does the line ‘Ilion like a mist rose into tow’rs’ symbolize?
A. The destruction of the city of Troy.
B. A beautiful but temporary human achievement.
C. The eternal nature of human cities.
D. The beginning of a long journey.
Ans. B. A beautiful but temporary human achievement

Extract-Based Questions

Answer the following extract-based questions.

A.
Alas! for this gray shadow, once a man –
So glorious in his beauty and thy choice,
Who madest him thy chosen, that he seem’d
To his great heart none other than a God!
I ask’d thee, ‘Give me immortality.’
Then didst thou grant mine asking with a smile,
Like wealthy men, who care not how they give.

Q1. What does the speaker, Tithonus, call himself in his current state?
Ans. He calls himself a gray shadow.

Q2. What made the speaker seem like a god in the past?
Ans. His great beauty and the fact that he was chosen by the goddess.

Q3. What was the specific request that the speaker made to the goddess?
Ans. He asked her to give him immortality.

Q4. How did the goddess respond to the speaker’s request?
Ans. She granted his request with a smile.

Q5. To whom does the speaker compare the goddess’s way of giving?
Ans. He compares her to wealthy men, who care not how they give.

B.
But thy strong Hours indignant work’d their wills,
And beat me down and marr’d and wasted me,
And tho’ they could not end me, left me maim’d
To dwell in presence of immortal youth,
Immortal age beside immortal youth,
And all I was, in ashes. Can thy love,
Thy beauty, make amends, tho’ even now,
Close over us, the silver star, thy guide,
Shines in those tremulous eyes that fill with tears

Q1. What is personified in the first line of the stanza?
Ans. The strong Hours, which represent the passage of time, are personified as being indignant and working their will on Tithonus.

Q2. How did the strong Hours affect Tithonus?
Ans. The strong Hours beat him down and marr’d and wasted him. They could not kill him, but they left him maim’d and decrepit.

Q3. What is the tragic contrast described by Tithonus in the stanza?
Ans. The tragic contrast is between his ‘immortal age’ and Aurora’s ‘immortal youth’, forcing him to live forever in a state of decay while she remains beautiful.

Q4. What does Tithonus mean by the phrase ‘And all I was, in ashes’?
Ans. This is a metaphor meaning that his former self, his youth, beauty, and strength, has been completely destroyed and is now gone forever.

Q5. What is Aurora’s emotional state in the stanza?
Ans. Aurora is sad and upset to hear Tithonus’s words. Her eyes are tremulous and filled with tears.

Extra Questions

SHORT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q1. What is the central problem that Tithonus faces in the poem?
Ans. Tithonus’s central problem is that he was given the gift of immortality by the goddess Aurora but was not granted eternal youth. He is now an endlessly aging man, a withered and decaying figure trapped in a body that cannot die. His suffering comes from the stark contrast between his mortal body’s decay and Aurora’s eternal, renewing beauty. He is forced to live forever as a ‘white-hair’d shadow’, longing for the peace and natural conclusion of death that all other living things, from trees to men, are able to experience.

Q2. Why did Tithonus originally ask for the gift of immortality?
Ans. Tithonus asked for immortality because he was once a very handsome and glorious mortal man, and he was chosen by the goddess Aurora to be her lover. In his youthful pride and great love for the goddess, he desired to be with her forever. He was so caught up in the moment and his feelings that he asked for a gift that he did not fully understand. He wanted to be a part of her divine world without considering what it would mean to have an immortal life in a mortal body, leading to his terrible and permanent suffering.

Q3. How does Tithonus’s perspective on death change throughout the poem?
Ans. At the beginning of the poem, Tithonus observes that all natural things, including human beings and swans, eventually decay and die. However, he now views death not as something to be feared, but as a merciful and kindly end. He feels that having a natural end is the proper goal of ordinance for all living creatures. He looks with envy upon happy men that have the power to die and the happier dead who rest in their graves, wishing he could be released from his endless suffering and returned to the earth to find peace and rest.

Q4. What is the main difference between Tithonus and the goddess Aurora?
Ans. The main difference between Tithonus and Aurora is that she embodies eternal youth and cyclical renewal, while he is cursed with unending old age and decay. Aurora is the goddess of the Dawn, and each morning she is reborn, her beauty and vibrancy returning anew. She is a symbol of nature’s constant renewal. In contrast, Tithonus is trapped in an immortal body that is constantly withering and growing old. Her beautiful, vibrant presence serves only to highlight his own endless decline, making his cursed existence even more painful and tragic.

Q5. What is Tithonus’s final plea to Aurora?
Ans. Tithonus’s final plea to Aurora is to be released from his immortality and to be returned to the ground. He begs her to restore me to the ground so he can finally find the rest that all mortal creatures are granted. He longs to be a part of the natural cycle of life and death, to join the happier dead who lie in their graves. He wants to forget the cold and empty world of the immortals and to no longer have to witness Aurora’s beautiful, daily renewal, which only serves to remind him of his own permanent state of decay.

LONG QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q1. What is the central tragedy of Tithonus’s situation, and why does he see his immortality as a curse rather than a gift?
Ans. Tithonus’s tragedy lies in a flawed gift of immortality that was not accompanied by eternal youth. He was a mortal man who, because of his great beauty, was loved by the goddess Aurora. He asked her to grant him everlasting life, a request she fulfilled without considering the consequences. As a result, Tithonus’s body continues to age and decay, while his life never ends. He is trapped in a state of eternal decline, slowly withering away as a ‘white-hair’d shadow’ and a ‘maim’d’ version of his former self. He sees this immortality as a cruel curse because it denies him the natural rest of death, which he observes as a peaceful and merciful end for all other living things, from men to swans. His suffering is endless, as he is forced to exist forever, a decaying ruin, beside his beloved Aurora, who is forever young. The gift has become a torment, and he longs for death as his only escape.

Q2. Describe the relationship between Tithonus and the goddess Aurora, and explain how it has changed over time.
Ans. Tithonus’s relationship with Aurora began as a passionate and divine love. When he was a mortal man of great beauty, she chose him, and he felt like a god in her presence. He vividly remembers a time when their love was reciprocal and glorious, with her beauty and passion igniting his own. However, this has dramatically changed because of the gift of immortality. While her love for him seems to remain, it has transformed into a kind of pity and sadness. Aurora is eternally young and beautiful, but Tithonus has become old, withered, and decaying. This physical disparity has created an unbridgeable gap between them. Their relationship is now characterized by his bitter lament and his desperate pleas for release. Aurora, in turn, seems unable to help him. She grows beautiful and departs each morning, leaving tears on his cheek, which suggests her sorrow for his fate and her own helplessness. She is a distant figure of divine renewal, while he is a perpetual reminder of her flawed and irreversible gift.

Q3. Why does Tithonus long for death and what is his view on mortality for other living beings?
Ans. Tithonus longs for death because he sees it as the only possible release from his endless, decaying existence. His view of mortality is starkly different from a typical fear of death; he sees it as a kind and necessary part of life. He observes the natural world and notes that everything, from the woods that decay to the swan that eventually dies, has a proper, finite end. He believes this is a natural law, a ‘goal of ordinance’, that is ‘most meet for all’. He bitterly contrasts his own suffering with the peace that comes with death. He refers to the mortal men who die as happy, and their graves as the resting places of the happier dead. In his view, having the power to die is a privilege, a mercy that he, ironically, has been denied. He pleads with Aurora to restore him to the ground so he can find peace in the earth and forget his cursed, endless life.

Q4. How does the poem use the natural world, particularly the image of Aurora and the dawn, to highlight Tithonus’s misery?
Ans. The poem uses the natural world, particularly the recurring image of the dawn, as a constant and painful contrast to Tithonus’s misery. Each morning, Aurora, the goddess of the Dawn, is renewed with vibrant beauty. Her pure brows, sweet eyes, and bosom beating with a heart renewed stand in sharp opposition to Tithonus’s withered and ‘maim’d’ body. The ‘ever-silent spaces of the East’ and the ‘gleaming halls of morn’ are beautiful, divine realms that he, as a decaying mortal, is now an alien and cold presence within. The daily cycle of renewal like the clouds parting, the sun’s wild horses shaking darkness from their manes, serves as a constant reminder of the life and vigor he has lost forever. This eternal cycle of birth and beauty that he witnesses but can no longer be a part of is a central source of his torment and deepens his sense of isolation and sorrow.

Q5. How does Tithonus’s memory of his past glory and love with Aurora affect his present suffering?
Ans. Tithonus’s vivid memories of his past glory and his passionate love with Aurora serve to intensely magnify his present suffering. He remembers a time when he was a beautiful man, chosen by a goddess, and he could meet her love with his own youthful energy. He recalls their intimate moments, with her lips whispering sweet words and her presence making his blood ‘Glow with the glow that slowly crimson’d all’. These memories are filled with vibrant, sensory details of warmth, light, and passion. However, this glorious past is now in ashes. His present reality is one of coldness, decay, and endless loneliness, despite being in her presence. The constant comparison between the man he was and the ‘white-hair’d shadow’ he has become makes his suffering far more agonizing. His memories are not a comfort but a cruel reminder of all that he has lost, creating an unbridgeable gap between his past happiness and his present torment.

 

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