Describe the lover's journey at night to meet his beloved.
Robert Browning's poem "Meeting at Night" is essentially a narrative of a man who is journeying to meet his lover secretly at night. One by one, the poet briefly describes his surroundings as he passes by them. At the beginning of the poem the lover advances towards his destination by undertaking a strenuous journey over the ˜grey sea' and ˜black land'. He begins his journey towards his beloved by sailing in a boat in the grey sea that is lighted by the moon. The landscape looks black as it indicates the gloomy night. The yellow moon that looks low and large is rising as a gleam of hope.The speaker awakens the sea as he travels.He is so in love that he feels the lively waves around him are eager and excited as they leap like fiery rings. His restlessness and eagerness to see his beloved is suggested in the phrase ˜quench its speed'.He gets closer and closer to the cove until he arrives in the slushy sand which indicates that he arrives to shore and a part of the journey has ended. After this he mentions the sea-scented beach, which ties to our sense of smell, reminding us of the smell of the salty air by the beach. He then crosses three fields to reach his destination,a farm where he finally meets his beloved.
Objective II.
Sketch a picture of night in Browning's dramatic monologue, "Meeting at Night.".
Response.
As the title suggests, "Meeting at Night," describes the speaker's nighttime journey to meet his lover Browning takes advantage of the nighttime setting to create a contrast between the energetic speaker and the inert and featureless landscape. The first stanza describes elaborately the beautiful night scene on the man's sailing on the sea to the bay. He sails in the grey sea that is lighted by the moon. The landscape looks black as it indicates the gloominess of the night. The dark night casts its shadow over the sea and because of this the sea appears grey.