 The character of Mariana is connected to Shakespeare 's Measure for Measure ; there is a direct quotation of Shakespeare 's play in regards to a character of the same name . In Shakespeare 's play , Mariana is rejected by the character Angelo and lives alone as she pines over her love . Tennyson 's version is set in Lincolnshire , not Vienna as in the Shakespeare play . This makes the characters completely English . Additionally , the scene within the poem does not have any of the original context but the two works are connected in imagery with the idea of a dull life and a <unk> female named Mariana . However , Tennyson is not the only one that uses the image ; John Everett Millais 's painting Mariana is based on Tennyson 's version of Mariana and lines 9 through 12 of Tennyson 's poem were used for the catalogue description of the painting . Similarly , Millais 's version served as the inspiration for Elizabeth Gaskell 's novel , Mariana . Tennyson 's Mariana and Gaskell 's main character , Ruth , are sensitive to the sounds around them and are constantly looking out of their window in image that represents their imprisonment within their homes . The image of Mariana used by Tennyson and the later works are equally of a woman who is weary . 
