"Mariana"

Tennyson based the subject of this poem off of a character by the same name from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.  In the play, Mariana is dumped by her lover after she loses all of her dowry. She then isolates herself as she grieves.  Tennyson tells a similar story where, to put it simply, Mariana waits for her lover and becomes increasingly more depressed the longer she has to wait.

The thing that stuck out to me the most about this poem was the refrain, "She only said, 'My life is dreary, / He cometh not,' she said: / She said. 'I am aweary, aweary, / I would that I were dead!'".  Mariana is emotional to the point that she seems to have lost touch with reality.  The refrain became increasingly more emotive as I read over and over again.  The repetition not only lends itself to the rhythm, but it also seems add emphasis to Marianna's deteriorating state.  In stanzas 2, and 5 the line changes to "'The night is dreary...'" and in stanza 3 it becomes "'The day is dreary...'".  I am not quite sure what this change in refrain is doing except for maybe indicating the passing of time.  Mariana has several sleepless nights and dismal days, illustrating the torment she is experiencing.  

The final line of the piece is slightly different, "She only said 'My life is dreary. / He cometh not,' she said; / She wept, 'I am aweary, aweary, / Oh God, that I were dead!'" (81-84).  I read this final declaration as an official admittance of defeat.

Mariana also inspired a painting by Sir John Everett Millais.