Stanza 6 Summary

Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.

The sparrow's chirrup on the roof,
The slow clock ticking, and the sound
Which to the wooing wind aloof
The poplar made, did all confound

The sparrow makes noise outside, and it combines with the ticking of the clock and the sound of the wind.
"Wooing wind" is yet another instance of alliteration, if you are keeping track.
All of these noises "confound," or confuse, the woman.
She's in such a state of sorrow that even ordinary, easily explainable noises are too much for her.
This stanza marks an interesting change. The woman's emotions have influenced the way she looks at nature throughout the entire poem. Now, though, nature is influencing her emotions.
Is this a positive development? Read on to find out…

Her sense; but most she loathed the hour
When the thick-moted sunbeam lay
Athwart the chambers, and the day
Was sloping toward his western bower.

What does Mariana hate the most? It's the evening, when the sun starts to set and the light enters her room, exposing all the dust.
In fact, she loathes this time of day. That's some strong language.
But why so much hate? Well, it's anyone's guess.
It could be that it signals that nighttime is coming, and that another day has passed.
And, because she's waiting for someone to return, the end of another day means she's lost another chance at seeing his return.
Also, the light shows how dusty the room is, which probably reminds her that she's been there for a while.
Also, notice the semi-colon after "her sense." That's a caesura, or pause in the middle of a line of poetry.
We haven't seen that much in this poem; everything has been flowing pretty smoothly. By using a caesura, though, Tennyson is telling us to pause and really consider "her sense"—and the fact that she is finally losing it. Mariana has been driven mad by her grief.

   Then said she, "I am very dreary,
    He will not come," she said;
    She wept, "I am aweary, aweary,
    Oh God, that I were dead!"

While it may come as no surprise that the refrain is making another appearance here, there's something different going on this time.
In this final refrain of the poem, Mariana is the thing that's weary, rather than "day" or "night" or "life." Also, "He will not come" has taken the place of "He cometh not."
She knows, or at least believes, that he's never coming. Hope is finally gone.
And with that declaration, she says her final lines, the ones we know by heart now, "Oh God, that I were dead!"
Whether she, with the end of her sorrowful cycles, does indeed achieve her wish is anyone's guess.
Whatever happens, one thing is clear: this final refrain signals some type of ending. Whether it's to her life, her waiting, or just to the poem is left for you to decide, Shmoopers.