Compare the presentation of despondent isolation in Tennyson’s ‘Mariana’ and ‘The Lady of Shalott’.
Compare the presentation of despondent isolation in Tennyson’s ‘Mariana’ and ‘The Lady of Shalott’.
Tennyson presented complete and utter hopeless isolation in both Mariana and The Lady of Shalott in very many ways, a few being; their longing for a man, their prolonged sadness or the chance of change, whether it be tragic or unattainable.
Continuing, the loss of hope is a key theme in these poems, but the curse set on the women being the main cause of this. ‘Without hope of change’ line 29, Mariana was very vocal in the fact she felt as if there was no chance of change in her life and that her husband will never consummate the marriage, which she saw as a curse. However, ‘“The curse is upon me,” cried The Lady of Shalott.’ Line 116, therefore, her curse was magical, meaning, if she stopped weaving she would be doomed to death. Therefore, the sudden exclamation from The Lady of Shalott shows how she knew there was to be change, though, it was a bad change and she had no hope of reversing it, but Mariana knew she could not change her husband’s mine and was hopeless in reversing this.
Due to the fact that both women knew that they were doomed and felt as though there was no hope for a better life, the life they lived seems to be endless without rest-bite. Tennyson wrote in Mariana, ‘in sleep she seem’d to walk forlorn’ line 30, which shows that the days and nights combined and that because the ‘dews were dried’ line 14, meant that everyday was the same, not fresh or new. Then also, in The Lady of Shalott she ‘weaves by night and day’ line 37, showing how the days and years just blended together.
Furthermore, both women long for a man in their life, Mariana wanting one for more sexual reasons, ‘The shadow of the poplar fell Upon her bed, across her brow’ line 55 and 56. The metaphor of the tree is supposed to be the husband in the distance, the shadow increases the yearning and longing for him to satisfy her needs, also the use of enjambment
Tennyson presented complete and utter hopeless isolation in both Mariana and The Lady of Shalott in very many ways, a few being; their longing for a man, their prolonged sadness or the chance of change, whether it be tragic or unattainable.
Continuing, the loss of hope is a key theme in these poems, but the curse set on the women being the main cause of this. ‘Without hope of change’ line 29, Mariana was very vocal in the fact she felt as if there was no chance of change in her life and that her husband will never consummate the marriage, which she saw as a curse. However, ‘“The curse is upon me,” cried The Lady of Shalott.’ Line 116, therefore, her curse was magical, meaning, if she stopped weaving she would be doomed to death. Therefore, the sudden exclamation from The Lady of Shalott shows how she knew there was to be change, though, it was a bad change and she had no hope of reversing it, but Mariana knew she could not change her husband’s mine and was hopeless in reversing this.
Due to the fact that both women knew that they were doomed and felt as though there was no hope for a better life, the life they lived seems to be endless without rest-bite. Tennyson wrote in Mariana, ‘in sleep she seem’d to walk forlorn’ line 30, which shows that the days and nights combined and that because the ‘dews were dried’ line 14, meant that everyday was the same, not fresh or new. Then also, in The Lady of Shalott she ‘weaves by night and day’ line 37, showing how the days and years just blended together.
Furthermore, both women long for a man in their life, Mariana wanting one for more sexual reasons, ‘The shadow of the poplar fell Upon her bed, across her brow’ line 55 and 56. The metaphor of the tree is supposed to be the husband in the distance, the shadow increases the yearning and longing for him to satisfy her needs, also the use of enjambment