Symbols, Imagery, Wordplay
Form and Meter
On the page, Mariana looks, well, pretty much exactly like what you'd expect a poem to look like. We have seven stanzas, each with twelve lines. And, within each of the stanzas, we have some rhymin...
Speaker
We really don't get to meet the speaker in this poem. In fact, the only person present in the poem is Mariana, with whom our speaker seems very familiar. The speaker sets the scene immediately. It'...
Setting
This one's easy enough: Mariana is at her farmhouse, and at her farmhouse is where she stays. This scene is set from the get go: moss overruns the walls and ceiling, rust is eroding the nails, and...
Sound Check
Shhh—listen closely, gang. Do you hear that? There's a whole lot of cadence (or, musical elements) in Mariana. Keep your ears open as we dive into a few examples.First and foremost, we get a refr...
What's Up With the Title?
The title is an allusion to the character Mariana from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. Ready for a speedy summary? Here we go: Mariana is a young lady who has been recently jilted by her fiancé...
Calling Card
Tennyson is famous for his lyrical lines and poetic stylings. Just take a look at any of his most famous works to see the wordsmith at work. But don't forget to pay attention to the underlying tone...
Tough-o-Meter
It may reference Shakespeare and use a few outdated words, but Tennyson's Mariana isn't very tricky. There are no obscure allusions or foreign words to translate, and the overall theme is pretty ap...
Trivia
A Kardashian of poetry? Tennyson was considered one of the most famous people of his time. You could even call him… a celebrity. (Source)
Our man Tennyson wrote one of the most popular poems of...
Steaminess Rating
You know what we'd need to make this poem anything above a G rating? We'd need someone—really anyone—besides Mariana, a few mice, some memories, and a tree representing her isolation. And since...
Allusions
Measure for Measure (throughout)