Tithonus - Why has the poet used colon (:) to join the two phrases -
Explain why has the poet chosen to use a colon as punctuation after Consumes. How are the two parts "Me only cruel immortality/ Consumes" and "I wither slowly in thine arms/ Here at the quiet limit of the world" linked by the colon?
The use of a colon after "Consumes":
The colon introduces a cause-and-effect relationship between the two parts of the sentence.
The first part, "Me only cruel immortality Consumes," declares that Tithonus is being devoured by the harsh reality of his unending life. ("cruel immortality" personified as an active, consuming force that incessantly erodes his existence.)
The colon that follows signals that the subsequent text will explain or expand upon the effect of this consumption.
Following the colon, "I wither slowly in thine arms/ Here at the quiet limit of the world," clarifies the personal and deep impact of this immortality on Tithonus.
These lines depict his gradual decay and the loneliness of his eternal life, encapsulated in the image of withering in the protective yet imprisoning embrace of Eos (the goddess of dawn, referred to here metaphorically). The phrase "at the quiet limit of the world" underscores his isolation at the boundaries of the earthly and divine, where he exists far from the mortal life cycle that governs human existence.
Therefore, the colon is used to effectively connect the overarching, abstract concept of 'cruel immortality' with its tangible, agonizing consequences on Tithonus, deepening the reader's understanding of his perpetual suffering and estrangement from the natural world.