LINE BY LINE MEANING:
Lines 1-2
The
grey sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
The poem begins with a
picture of a landscape: a "grey
sea," "long black land," and a "half-moon". The
moon is probably rising).Interestingly ‘verbs’ are absent from
the first two lines, so we don't know what for the is.land .
"Black land" and the presence of the moon inform us that it is night
and it supports the title.
Lines 3-4
And the startled little waves that
leap In fiery ringlets from
their sleep,
Here again we find the description of the landscape; there are
"little waves” and they strangely, resemble "fiery ringlets." It
is already known that the speaker is near the ocean, but this description of
the waves suggests that maybe the speaker is in a boat. The word ‘startled’
expresses an ‘alarm’ and "fiery ringlets" declares of violent
passion.
Lines 5-6
As I gain the cove with pushing
prow, And quench its speed i' the slushy sand.
Finally, ’I’, the speaker, reaches to some place in the poem. He
reaches or gains the "cove"
which is a kind of recess or sheltered space on the coast of an ocean.
The descriptions from the lines 1-4 it is clear that the speaker is in a boat.
Now, "Quench" means to extinguish or stop ,like quenching your thirst
by drinking. So "quench its speed" means to "stop" the boat
on the shore, in the slushy or muddy
sand."
Lines 7-8
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm
appears;
Now, the speaker has got down from his boat, and walk a mile on
the beach, and then to cross three fields. The line "a mile of warm
sea-scented beach" is kind of strange; nothing can be guessed from it. But
the next line says of his intension of crossing a long distance. It is really strenuous
journey. Here we also get a hint where the speaker is going. He is going to a ‘farm
house’. It keeps the readers in suspense.
Lines 9-10
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp
scratch And blue spurt of a lighted
match,
Now it is clear that the farm is the ultimate destination and now it
is easy to conclude that the speaker –is
"tapping" at the windowpane: and someone appears to respond to the
tap by lighting a match. Probably someone is waiting for this ‘tapping’.
Lines
11-12
And a voice less loud, thro' its joys and
fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to
each.
At last, after the "tap at the pane" and the lighting
of the match, a voice says something. The voice is less loud than two hearts. Usually
heartbeats are so loud that we can hear,
but it suggests that the two lovers are so excited that their hearts beat
louder than a human voice. Actually, they
are two lovers who are eager to meet each other.
SUMMARY:
Meeting at Night is a short dramatic lyric and relatively simple Victorian English love poem by Robert Browning. It portrays the
speaker’s journey towards his reunion with his beloved. A deeper analysis of
the poem highlights the significance of motion and effort in order to gain and
achieve in every aspect of life ends with a union. The
imagery of the poem is extremely picturesque and pastoral.
A lover felt a deep desire to meet his beloved who lives in a
farmhouse on the other side of the sea. The lover starts his journey in a night
in a boat. The sea is grey and the moon is half. The boat moves on. The calm
and sleepy sea awakes through ripples and small curls. The lover is restless
and passionate. His boat reaches its destination after a long journey. Getting down
from the boat, he walks along the sea-scented beach. He crosses three fields and
arrives to a farm. There his beloved is waiting for him. He makes a tap and a
scratch on the window pane to announce his presence. A match is lighted inside.
He is full of by joy and fear. Just then a voice is heard, softer than the
beatings of two hearts in deep excitement of meeting with each other.
Overall, the poem is not subtle in
its themes. It is only twelve lines long, and boldly says of strength of love. He
who loves, there is no cause for him to stop to admire surrounding beauty, at
least not until the supreme beauty of his beloved can be realized.
RHYMING STRUCTURE : ABCCBA DEFFED
Poetic Devices
used:
Repetition: “And the yellow half-moon large and low; And the startled
little waves that leap”; “And blue spurt of a lighted match, And a voice
less loud, thro’ its joys and fears”
Alliteration: “And the yellow half-moon large and low”; “And quench its
speed i’ the slushy sand”
1. Give the substance of the poem Meeting at night.
2. Justify the title of the poem Meeting at night.
3. Give the central idea of the poem Meeting at night.
4. Give a critical appreciation of
5. It is a dramatic lyric. Discuss.
6. Describe the imageries and symbols used in the poem Meeting at night.
7. Pick out the details that make this entire journey and meeting secretive.
8. Describe the feelings that the poet creates in the second stanza.
9. How does the voice express joy and fear at the same time?
10. Where does the meeting take place?
11. Why do the lovers meet at night?
12. ‘A tap in
13. ‘And a voice less loud, thro' its joys and fears’. Explain.
14. ‘Than the two hearts beating each to each! ‘Explain.
15. Where does the boat stop?
16. ‘As I gain the cove with pushing prow,’ the line expresses.
17. Who is the speaker in the poem Meeting at night?
18. How many stages are there in the journey?
19. How does the poet describe the sea, land and the moon?
20. How many fields the lover had to cross?
COMPLETE THE SENTENCES:
1.The poem is written by _______________
2.The speaker in the poem is ____________________
3.The poem is a ____________________
4.The word ‘startled’ means ___________
5.The lover travels by __________________
6.Here ‘sleep’ means __________________
7.Here ‘fiery’ means __________________
8.The word ‘cove’ means _________________
9.The word ‘quench’ means ____________________
10.Here ‘slushy’ means _____________________________
11.The little waves leap __________________________
12.The half – moon is _________________________
13.The sea is ______________
14.The land is ___________________
15.The lover met his beloved in _____________________________
16.The lady lover’s voice was ___________________________
17.The prow means ____________________________
18.Nature of the journey is ___________________________
19.The rhyme structure of the poem is ______________ ___________________
20.The voice less loud belong to _____________________________
21.The focus on the stanza two falls on ____________________________
22.‘….warm sea-scented beach’ means _________________
23.The type of the poem is ________________________
24.The mind of the lovers are filled with ______________________
26.The lover is certain of the presence of his beloved, when ______________________
27.How long is the sea beach _____________
28.The sea beach is _______________________
29.Spurt is ____________________________________
30.How many fields the lover had to cross?
31.The blue spurt is seen _________________________________
32. Here the ‘two hearts’ are _______________________________
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