Meeting at Night

Robert Browning’s poem “Meeting at Night” is a story of a man in love with a woman. The man travels a long journey in order to see this woman that he cares so deeply about. Robert Browning expresses the speaker’s feelings in “Meeting at Night” by using imagery to passionately describe the surroundings.

The diction that Robert Browning uses is quite interesting. Only once in the poem does the author use a word suggesting he is writing in first person. The first person word occurs in the fifth line when the author says, “As I gain the cove with pushing prow”. The poem would not be as effective if Browning had continuously used words such as “I” and “my.” Without these words the poem is able to draw in the reader, he or she is able to feel what the speaker is feeling and connect it to their own lives rather than looking in on someone else’s.

The mood and tone of the poem both come from the imagery that is shown. Setting such a beautiful scene for the audience creates a passionate and loving feeling. The passion in the poem is shown through scenes like the “warm sea-scented beach” and the “fiery ringlets” of the waves. Warmth is something that people often relate to a feeling of love. The reader can pick up on the theme of love throughout the poem even though a lover is not mentioned until the last line of the poem. When the two lovers meet and there is a “blue spurt of a lighted match” it shows the daring feeling that the two have. It shows what they will go through to see each other, which then heightens the passion in the poem. Browning also uses imagery to simply tell the story. When the speaker begins with “the grey sea and the long black land” it tells the reader that is likely night. “The startled little waves that leap” s...

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... In a literal sense the speaker is simply traveling at night to see his lover. However, this poem can be interpreted with a deeper meaning. Life will always bring you obstacles to cross and goals you want to reach. When someone is seeking another to love it often takes some time. The speaker had to go through a lot of loneliness and hardship before he was able to find the woman he wanted to be with. Robert also had to overcome more obstacles since Elizabeth’s father did not allow them to see each other.

Robert Browning uses his great skill of romantic sensibility. The reader learns that you will face obstacles in all parts of your life and we have to work hard to get to the part we enjoy. The reader will become caught up in all the passion that is put into this poem. Browning was able to use imagery to not only tell the story but also show the speakers feelings.