Summary of The Lotos Eaters by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Summary of "The Lotos-Eaters" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Tennyson’s "The Lotos-Eaters" retells an episode from Homer’s Odyssey, where Odysseus and his crew land on an enchanting island inhabited by the Lotos-eaters. The Lotos-eaters offer the sailors the lotos plant, whose fruit induces a dreamy forgetfulness and apathy. After eating the lotos, the sailors lose their desire to return home, feeling instead a deep longing to remain in the island’s tranquil, otherworldly beauty. The poem is structured in two parts: an introduction describing the arrival and enchantment, and a "Choric Song" where the sailors voice their yearning for rest. They question why humans alone must endure endless toil and suffering, while everything else in nature enjoys rest and peace. The mariners argue that life’s labor is futile since all things eventually fade and die, so they wish to abandon their journey and live in perpetual ease, even if it means never returning home. Ultimately, the poem explores themes of escapism, the seductive allure of oblivion, and the tension between duty and the desire for peace. The sailors, overwhelmed by exhaustion and the futility of endless struggle, resolve to stay in the land of the Lotos-eaters and "not wander more".