Tithonus by Tennyson – MCQs (25 Questions)
Choose the correct option for each question.
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What is the central theme of "Tithonus"?
a) The paradox of immortality without eternal youth leading to endless suffering
b) The beauty of eternal love between Tithonus and Eos
c) The power of gods to control human destiny
d) The triumph of human will over divine punishment -
Who is the speaker addressing throughout the poem?
a) The goddess Eos, the dawn, who granted him immortality
b) Mankind, seeking to warn them against immortality
c) Zeus, pleading for mercy and release
d) His own past self, remembering his former beauty -
What did Eos forget to ask Zeus for when granting Tithonus immortality?
a) Eternal beauty and youth to match his immortal life
b) Release from pain and suffering
c) The ability to feel love as deeply as before
d) Protection from the passage of time -
How does the opening imagery—"The woods decay, the woods decay and fall"—function in the poem?
a) It contrasts natural cycles of death and renewal with Tithonus's endless aging
b) It suggests environmental destruction from Eos's powers
c) It describes the literal landscape surrounding Tithonus
d) It emphasizes the speaker's sadness about his lost homeland -
What does Tithonus mean by "cruel immortality / Consumes"?
a) The gods are deliberately punishing him through immortality
b) Immortality, rather than being a blessing, destroys him physically and emotionally
c) He has become consumed by his love for Eos
d) The passage of time consumes all mortal beauty -
Why is Tithonus "maim'd" and "wasted" according to the poem?
a) Eos physically abused him to punish his infidelity
b) Time's "strong Hours" beat him down while he cannot die, leaving him broken but eternal
c) The gods deliberately curled his body as punishment for seeking immortality
d) He fought in wars and suffered injuries that never healed -
What does the contrast between Tithonus and Eos emphasize?
a) That goddesses are naturally superior to mortals in every way
b) That immortal age beside immortal youth creates unbridgeable suffering and isolation
c) That love cannot survive when partners are not equally matched in appearance
d) That mortals deserve to suffer for pursuing divine relationships -
What request does Tithonus make of Eos in the final stanzas?
a) That she use her divine powers to restore his youth
b) To share her burden of immortality equally with him
c) That she release him and take back the gift of immortality, letting him die
d) That she travel with him to find relief in other lands -
How does Tennyson portray death in this poem?
a) As a merciful release and natural completion of life's cycle
b) As a punishment inflicted by vengeful gods
c) As inferior to eternal life regardless of suffering
d) As an unknown terror that mortals should fear -
What does the phrase "Immortal age beside immortal youth" suggest?
a) Both Tithonus and Eos will eventually age together
b) The ironic impossibility of existing eternally while aging, creating existential torture
c) That age and youth are equally valuable qualities
d) That Tithonus should accept his condition and find meaning in it -
What symbolism do the "stars" carry in the poem?
a) Guidance toward freedom and escape from suffering
b) The eternal, unchanging divine realm that excludes aging mortals
c) The hope for supernatural intervention and rescue
d) The indifference of the universe to human suffering -
How is Tithonus portrayed as different from the rest of humanity?
a) He alone possessed supernatural strength and power
b) He is the only being subjected to endless aging without death—unique in his suffering
c) He chose immortality while others rejected it
d) He was loved by a goddess, making him morally superior -
What is the effect of the poem's dramatic monologue structure?
a) It permits multiple perspectives on Tithonus's condition
b) It creates psychological intimacy with Tithonus's suffering and despair
c) It distances readers from emotional engagement with his plight
d) It suggests Eos has no response or understanding of his pleas -
How does Tennyson modify the traditional myth?
a) He makes Tithonus request immortality himself, showing his foolish desire
b) He introduces scientific explanations for aging
c) He portrays Eos as a villainous figure deliberately torturing Tithonus
d) He removes all references to Tithonus's Trojan background -
What does Tithonus's realization reveal about human desire?
a) All desires eventually become satisfied through patience
b) Humans should suppress natural desires for safety
c) Desires for permanent benefits often ignore crucial consequences
d) Gods always grant wishes exactly as mortals intend -
What is the poem's attitude toward the natural cycle of life and death?
a) It should be fought against through any available means
b) It is cruel and unjust, requiring divine intervention
c) It is natural, meaningful, and necessary—Tithonus's violation of it brings suffering
d) It is irrelevant to understanding human happiness -
How does Eos respond emotionally to Tithonus's pleas?
a) With anger at his ingratitude for the gift of immortality
b) With indifference, suggesting she has stopped loving him
c) With tears and sympathy, yet unable or unwilling to grant his request
d) With laughter, mocking his weakness and suffering -
What does the imagery of East vs. West suggest in the poem?
a) The geographic distance between Troy and Ethiopia is the source of suffering
b) Eastern lands are inherently superior to Western ones
c) Tithonus is trapped in Eos's realm (the East) and seeks release into death/the grave
d) Directional imagery has no symbolic significance -
What literary device is most prominent in lines describing the passage of time?
a) Simile, comparing aging to natural processes
b) Personification of Time and Hours as active, destructive forces
c) Hyperbole, exaggerating Tithonus's suffering
d) Metonymy, substituting physical decay for emotional pain -
How does Tithonus's suffering relate to Victorian concerns about progress and immortality?
a) The poem celebrates technological advancement and conquest of death
b) It challenges the assumption that eternal life or eternal youth is desirable
c) It suggests that death is always preferable to any form of continued existence
d) It ignores Victorian philosophical debates about progress -
What does Tithonus mean when he describes his condition as being "in ashes"?
a) He is literally burned or cremated
b) His physical body and identity have been destroyed, leaving only emptiness
c) He has lost his spiritual faith through suffering
d) He has become reduced to dust and dust-like appearance -
What is the significance of Tithonus being a "gray shadow" rather than a man?
a) He is invisible to Eos and forgotten by the world
b) He has been reduced from full humanity to a hollow, diminished existence
c) He is haunting Eos as a ghost demanding revenge
d) He has become transparent to mortal vision -
How does the poem suggest that immortality is unnatural for humans?
a) Through explicit philosophical argument alone
b) By contrasting human aging with the immortal realm, suggesting fundamental incompatibility
c) By suggesting humans are too intelligent for eternal life
d) By claiming divine law forbids human immortality -
What does Tithonus mean by "The Gods themselves can not recall their gifts"?
a) Gods are forgetful and make errors regularly
b) Divine grants are absolute and irreversible—he is trapped by his wish
c) Gods are powerless compared to mortal willpower
d) The gift can be modified if Tithonus requests it properly -
What is the ultimate message of "Tithonus"?
a) Humans should strive for immortality regardless of consequences
b) Divine beings are cruel and enjoy mortal suffering
c) Mortality, though seemingly limiting, is essential to meaning and dignity in human life
d) Suffering is inevitable and should be accepted without resistance
Answer Key
i) a – The paradox of immortality without eternal youth leading to endless suffering
ii) a – The goddess Eos, the dawn, who granted him immortality
iii) a – Eternal beauty and youth to match his immortal life
iv) a – It contrasts natural cycles of death and renewal with Tithonus's endless aging
v) b – Immortality, rather than being a blessing, destroys him physically and emotionally
vi) b – Time's "strong Hours" beat him down while he cannot die, leaving him broken but eternal
vii) b – That immortal age beside immortal youth creates unbridgeable suffering and isolation
viii) c – That she release him and take back the gift of immortality, letting him die
ix) a – As a merciful release and natural completion of life's cycle
x) b – The ironic impossibility of existing eternally while aging, creating existential torture
xi) b – The eternal, unchanging divine realm that excludes aging mortals
xii) b – He is the only being subjected to endless aging without death—unique in his suffering
xiii) b – It creates psychological intimacy with Tithonus's suffering and despair
xiv) a – He makes Tithonus request immortality himself, showing his foolish desire
xv) c – Desires for permanent benefits often ignore crucial consequences
xvi) c – It is natural, meaningful, and necessary—Tithonus's violation of it brings suffering
xvii) c – With tears and sympathy, yet unable or unwilling to grant his request
xviii) c – Tithonus is trapped in Eos's realm (the East) and seeks release into death/the grave
xix) b – Personification of Time and Hours as active, destructive forces
xx) b – It challenges the assumption that eternal life or eternal youth is desirable
xxi) b – His physical body and identity have been destroyed, leaving only emptiness
xxii) b – He has been reduced from full humanity to a hollow, diminished existence
xxiii) b – By contrasting human aging with the immortal realm, suggesting fundamental incompatibility
xxiv) b – Divine grants are absolute and irreversible—he is trapped by his wish
xxv) c – Mortality, though seemingly limiting, is essential to meaning and dignity in human life