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To what extent does Tennyson
represent females in his poems as isolated, trapped and dependent on males?
Written in 2013 by Hannah Alley
I believe that
Tennyson represents females in his poems as isolated, trapped and dependent on
males, through his particular poems: Mariana
and The Lady of Shallot. However, his
poem Godiva contrasts with his other
works and offers a female character who does not conform to my assessment .
Mariana presents the protagonist’s feelings of distance and
disconnection with society as she wallows in her depressive desperation for her
lover to return. Mariana is isolated and lonely throughout the poem. Tennyson
particularly uses syntax and repetition to highlight these ideas: “The day is
dreary”, “I am aweary, I am aweary”. This constant repetitive refrain represents
Mariana’s struggles with daily life and her insecurity while living alone. There
is a lack of independence within her character, as though females need a strong
male to give them balance in their lives. Furthermore, the rhyming of “aweary”
and “dreary” create a tired tone, and the refrain is repeated with only slight
variation, emphasising the duration of Mariana’s isolation; thus the reader is confronted
by a sense of isolation and severe depression.
“Upon the middle
of the night” and “she seem’d to walk forlorn” are particular time references, suggesting
that Mariana actually loses sleep due to the absence of her lover. The use of
third person pronouns creates distance between the reader and the the
protagonist, despite evoking sympathy for her. Finallu, “the slow
clock-ticking” suggests that the protagonist is trapped in unending wait for
her lover. She relies utterly on her lover, the male in her life, and the
passage of time does nothing to lessen her misery; without him, Mariana appears
unable to even leave the range.
- 05:37
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