Many of Tennyson 's poems are in the form of a dramatic monologue . However , Mariana , like The Lady of Shallott , is more accurately a lyrical narrative . It contain elements of dramatic monologies in that it contain a refrain that carry through the poem as found in Oriana and other poems . Oriana is completely a dramatic monologue and Mariana is not because Tennyson represent how the title figure is unable to linguistically control her own poem , which reinforce the themes of the poem . This technique is used again in Tennyson 's later poem , The Two Voices . The rhyme scheme of the poem , abab cddc efef , is different than the standard ballad rhyme that serve to contain the poem then allow a free expression . The middle quatrain of the stanzas returns in theme to the beginning in a cyclical pattern while the last quatrain 's lines contain the same words .