Analysis Of Meeting At Night

A Love Poem Without “Love”: Feeling the Love of Robert Browning’s “Meeting at Night” (976)

Love poem is always my favorite category of poetry. Some of them are passionate, and some of them are full of bitter. There is a common point of love poems which they all move their audience by heavily using influential words to express their strong love. However, Meeting at Night is one of the most special love poems I have ever read, because it is a poem describing love without the word “love”. The poet Robert Browning shows the audience a distinctive way to express his love. And his subtle vocabulary represents quite a few sense such as sights, smells, and sounds; which let the audience experience his “joys and fears” (Line 11) in the journey he come to see his lover.

One of the reasons which build this poem successful is the special way Browning use to write Meeting at Night. Browning does not describe his love directly, in another way, he vividly narrates his journey to the audience and let them taste this love-struck trip. Imagery plays an important part in this poem, which let the audience visualize the poet’s journey. The background of the event is “the gray sea and the long black land” (1). In this gloomy even frightening night, the poet takes a boat across the cove alone. Nevertheless, in the part II, the scenery in poet’s eye is “a mile of warm sea-scented beach” (7). The strong contrast let the audience find out that it is the poet’s love turn a lonely and dreary night into one that is full of anticipation, love and happiness. Being in love is happy and exciting, which makes the poet consider everything beautiful. Additionally, apart from using contrast in the sight, the poet describes the journey carefully to show his eagernes...

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...nd let them imagine and visualize the excitement when they meet each other.

Robert Browning shows an extraordinary way to write love poem, he represents a specific and vivid experience which the speaker overcome lots of barriers to meet his love. In this journey, the poet describe the sights, the sounds, and the feeling in detail which makes the audience see, hear and even feel everything he has experienced. Furthermore, by using the subtle vocabulary, the poet turn a hard trip into a happy and hopeful journey. With no need for large amount words to praise their love, everyone was touched by this passionate man. The poem shows the power of love, because love turn all impossible into possible.

Work Cited

Robert Browning. “Meeting at Night” Literature: Craft and Voice. Ed. Nicholas Delbancoand Alan Cheuse. 2nd Ed. New York: McGraw, 2013. 976. Print.