Death is the end of life an why

Should life all labour be?

Answer: These conspicuous and remarkable lines have been extracted from the famous poem, “The Lotos-Eaters” written by Alfred Lord Tennyson who is the representative poet in the Victorian Period. Here the lotes-eaters refuse to labor more as they think that death is the end of life.

While returning from the Trojan War, the sailors reached the lotos-island. On this island, the inhabitants eat a kind of fruit called lotos. Immediately after eating the lotos fruits, the mariners became intoxicated and began to praise the island. They find complete peace, tranquillity, and bliss on this island. In this place, life is full of rest. Now they have decided to stay in this land of the lotos plants. By contrast, the mariners say that they had worked hard under the dark blue sky over the dark blue sea. Now the dark blue sky over the dark blue sea seems to be disgusting and upsetting for the mariners.

On the island, the mariners want to take a rest from their toil. They are no longer charmed by the waves of the sea. They no longer feel excited hearing the sounds of the sea waves. They say that it is meaningless to work in our lives because one day we must die. None can avoid death. They think that if their life ends in death, why they should work hard in life? Hence they do not want to go on any voyage. They want to pass the rest of their lives in peace and inactivity in Lotos-land. They give the reason why they are attracted to such a life. They say that death is the end of all lives on earth.

In fact, the mariners here express their disgust with the voyaging sea life. But Tennyson has tried to exhort his contemporary conservates who thought like the lotos-eaters.