Short Analysis of Robert Browning’s Meeting at Night
Meeting at Night
Robert Browning
The grey sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i’ the slushy sand.
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, thro’ its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!
Imagery:
- Sight : “grey sea”, “long black land”, “yellow half-moon large”, “startled little waves”, “fiery ringlets”, etc. (almost all the parts of this poem give sight imagery).
- Hear : “voice less loud”
- Touch : “warm sea-scented beach”
Surface meaning:
The Robert Browning’s poem, as the title shows it, is about a meeting at night of a couple who are in love with each other. To meet the woman, the man should do a very long journey through the sea with his boat, walking through three farms, until he arrives at a farm. Still, he has to be very careful when meeting her because exactly they are not allowed to meet each other. That’s why the man comes at night and they should talk with a very soft voice.
Deep meaning:
This poem is telling us about the process of a relationship. When someone has not find his love, his life feels so lonely that Robert Browning represented it by “the grey sea and the long black land”. Love can be aimed to someone or dream. Then, to be able to reach his love, he passed trough many challenges and restrictions. However, he did it happily since he has a big optimistic. After all the hassles, he succeed to find what he looked for. The loneliness has gone and was changed by brightness (“And blue spurt of a lighted match”). And finally, he got what he dreamed about.
Theme:
- Love is something that needs a hassle and sacrificial to be gotten.
- A success will be reached if someone has a big motivation and works hard pass trough many challenges and restrictions.
Messages:
To reach our love/dream, we have to work hard and enjoy the process. By doing it, we will find the real happiness of our success.
Good analysis here. It does convey a good message on how to gain love as well as to keep it steadfast. Nice choice too.
tomachfive
November 14, 2009
Thank you so much
Well, I’m just a beginner here.
Feel free to give your critics or additional analysis
big0karina0in0her0little0world
November 14, 2009
When you realize that this poem is about an illicit romantic meeting, especially in the time it was written, then ‘as i gain the cove with pushing prow’ and ‘quench its speed i’ the slushy sand’ take on a whole new level of meaning. The blue spurt now becomes obvious. PASSION.
Rob Williamson
April 23, 2011
i love this analysis. i had to do a presentation in literature on this poem and it really helped.
Lisa Jertram
October 6, 2011
I have loved that poem since I was a teenager (many years ago!) in Australia. We learned it in English Literature class. I was immediately taken by the imagery and the brevity of words conveying so much meaning. The poem always had the power to evoke for me such clear images of the action and the scene as well as conveying the urgency of the quest of the lovers to find each other, then succeeding in dead of night. It is truly romantic in more than just the modern conventional sense. I hadn’t thought about the deeper meaning which you have perceived – ie. the representation of the long black land and the grey sea as symbols of unfulfilled life through the absence of love. Or indeed the fulfilment of the dream of finding love as evinced by the light given off from the struck match. Very astute of you! I wish you success in your searching for love! David
David
October 14, 2011
Aww.. Thank you so much
I made the analysis long time ago for a presentation in my university. My lecturer always taught us about analyzing the deep meaning in any poem and this is what I got for this one. Good to know that someone like it 
Wish you all the best too with your love life 
big0karina0in0her0little0world
November 20, 2011
this poem makes me fly on the romantic dreams since my lover faces the challenges to meet my finally … thank u Robert Brown for your great poem .
noor
December 28, 2011
I am doing a report on Robert Browning in my 8th grade english class and I am choosing this poem for the one I have to memorize and share to the class.
Lara
March 5, 2012
Thanks for the help! I have an AP paper due tommorrow morning, and this is just the ticket!
Legendlover
March 16, 2012