Elina Acosta
Dr. Bowen
AP English Literature and Composition
22/10/214
For Love In Robert Browning’s, “Meeting at Night”, a poem about a secretive meeting between two lovers, detailed imagery, figurative language and structure ultimately reveal the challenges humans will endure and go through for the sake of love. Browning begins his poem by painting a dark scene in the readers mind of a “grey sea and [a] long black land”(1) form, as well as a luminous “yellow half-moon large and low”(2). Not only does this imagery appeal to the reader’s sense of sight, but it also allows for Browning to show that this poem is taking place at night without having to outright dictate it. Imagery is a predominate device used throughout this poem; yet, Browning incorporates figurative language as he personifies the “little waves that leap”(3), and a metaphor as he compares the waves to “fiery ringlets”(5). Browning once again highlights the time of day through his clever personification of the waves being “startled”(4) “from their sleep”(4), signifying it is night and that everyone, including the waves, should be asleep. Apart from these important devices, Browning has also given the reader another hint as to what is going on in this poem with the words cove and “prow”(6), which means the portion of the ship that is above water. The speaker is sailing in the middle of the night, before finally landing the boat in the “slushy sand”(7) of the “cove”(6), which is another representation of imagery as it appeals to the sense of touch.
The point of view of this poem is in first person, and can be confusing since it opens up as a monologue of what the speaker sees. The second stanza continues this monologue but shifts as the speaker begins enumerating all that he must traverse through to meet his presumed lover; “a mile of [a] warm sea- scented beach”(9), which is another example of imagery, this time appealing to the sense of smell, as well as crossing “three fields”(10) until finally “a farm appears”(10). It can be inferred that the farm is the speaker’s designated meeting place as Browning begins describing the meeting as the speaker “[taps] at the pane”(11). Imagery, appealing to the sense of sound, is seen as a “quick sharp scratch”(11) is heard from inside the window, and a “blue”(12) “lighted match”(12) is seen. These vibrant words as well as “fiery”(5) and “warm”(9), help Browning represent the love and passion that these two people have for each other. This stanza, in comparison to the first one is much
