In 1833, Alfred, Lord Tennyson's close friend Arthur Henry Hallam, died suddenly of a stroke at age 22. Tennyson was greatly affected by Hallam's death, and he used poetry to explore his feelings and examine life and death from many different angles. For "Tithonus," the poet chose the avenue of myth.

The Greek myth of Tithonus and Eos centers around life, death, and desire, but Tennyson adjusts it slightly for his purposes. In the original story, Eos turns to Zeus with the request for Tithonus' immortality; she does not grant it herself, although she does forget to ask for perpetual youth for her lover, and Zeus apparently does not offer what is not asked for. In the poem, of course, Eos is the one who gives the gift of immortality and is then unable to take it back.

The change is small but significant. In the poem, Eos and Tithonus are so caught up in their love for each other that they fail to consider the consequences and permanency of their choices until it is too late. Death is actually preferable to the half-life. Tithonus must live in perpetual old age and decay. The poet seems to be reflecting that love can blind people to the nature of humanity, including death.

Tennyson's angle of examination in "Tithonus" focuses on death as a gift. Hallam's stroke, had the young man lived through it, would have made his life exceptionally difficult, physically and mentally. Tennyson would have wanted to keep his beloved friend Hallam alive, but he realized it would have come at a high cost. Through the poem, the poet understands that letting his friend go peacefully may have been the best possible outcome.

Tennyson's reflections on death and adaptation of myth take on a particular form in his poem. He writes in blank verse, which means that while his poem lacks a rhyme scheme, it does have a specific meter, in this case, iambic pentameter. In iambic pentameter, each line contains five unstressed and five stressed syllables with an unstressed-stressed alternation throughout. For instance, the poem's first line scans as follows (with stressed syllables in bold): The woods decay, thewoods decay and fall.

Iambic pentameter allows for a steady rhythm and easy flow, while the lack of rhyme offers a certain flexibility in poetic storytelling. The latter is especially important, considering the poem's point of view. Tennyson chooses to allow Tithonus to tell his story in his own words as a dramatic monologue. This increases readers' identification with and interest in the protagonist while allowing the poet to get into Tithonus' head, so to speak, and explore his innermost thoughts and emotions.

Tithonus, then, speaks for himself throughout the poem. He often exclaims in laments, outpourings of sorrow and grief. He uses words like "Alas!" and "Ay me!" to accentuate his pain as he pours out his heart.

The dramatic monologue also influences the poem's form. Each stanza contains a different number of lines based on the theme Tithonus expresses. The first three longer stanzas explain the situation, mourn immortality, and beg for death. Two shorter ones then address Eos directly (stanzas 4 and 5), increasing the drama to its climax as Eos indicates that she cannot take back her gift. The last two longer stanzas reflect on the consequences of this situation and express Tithonus' deep longing to die and be at peace.

Throughout the poem, Tennyson employs a variety of vivid language to enhance his subject matter. In the first stanza, for instance, he personifies the "vapours" that "weep their burthen to...