Exposed to Mariana’s psychological state, the reader immediately notices her resignation. While residing at the grange, Mariana has accepted that Lord Angelo will not return. In almost every stanza, Mariana expresses, “‘He cometh not… / …‘I am aweary, aweary, / I would that I were dead!’” (10-12). The repetition of “He cometh not” holds a glimmer of hope; yet it is overshadowed by her pessimism. Although she still waits for him, she acknowledges that he possibly abandonment her. Moreover, Mariana’s resignation is evidently seen in the last stanza. Tennyson writes: Then she said, ‘I am very dreary, He will not come,’ she said; She wept, ‘I am aweary, aweary, Oh God, that I were dead!’ (81-84). The shift from “He cometh not” to “He will not come” …show more content…
As an introduction to the poem, Tennyson includes the epigraph, “Mariana in the Moated Grange.” The sentence consists of two nouns, a preposition, and an adjective. By lacking a verb, the epigraph places a static Mariana in an isolated setting, therefore foreshadowing the rest of the poem. Furthermore, the speaker rarely mentions Mariana moving. She is seen looking out “her casement-curtain” and laying in her bed (19, 56); yet, she does not move much else. She does not attend to the grange or preoccupy her time with a hobby; rather, she is stagnant and seems to live in a dream-like state. In fact, she is only active in her sleep. Tennyson writes, “In sleep [Mariana] seem’d to walk forlorn,” showing more movement while asleep than awake (30). Similarly, the grange, too, is inactive. The “blacken’d waters” of the sluice seem asleep because they are still (38). The gate’s latch remains “unlifted” since it has not been used (6). The “wild winds [are] bound within their cell,” trapped from blowing (54). Using static verbs and imagery, nature is also perceived as static. This passivity allows for Mariana to blend into her surroundings and project her