Meeting at Night by Robert Browning

Meeting at Night

Robert Browning

D.A.Q. (Marks – 05)

1. What is the symbolic significance of the ‘Three-fields’ described in Meeting at Night?

Answer: Getting down from the ship, the poet-lover, warm with feelings at the hope of meeting the beloved after so long a time as stated in Meeting at Night by Robert Browning, walks a mile on the beach. Then he crosses three fields. These three fields are symbolic of the three socio-personal aspects which cause obstruction in continuing the love-affair. They are the prohibition of Elizabeth’s father, the disparity in the social-classes between Browning and Elizabeth, and finally the geographical difference between London and Florence where the poet-lover and the lady-love are respectively living at this time. At last the poet comes to the farm where his beloved is supposed to live.

2. “And a voice less loud, thro' its joys and fears,

Than the two hearts beating each to each” - explain the lines.

Answer: Meeting at Night narrates how the lyrical voice sails across the sea to reach his/her beloved one. The poem constructs a sense of movement that imitates the lyrical voice’s longing to reunite with his/her lover. After the "tap at the pane" and the lighting of the match, a voice speaks. Based on what we all know of such "meetings at night" from fairy tales and the like, it looks possible that the voice is that of the woman in the house.

However, the voice is less loud than the hearts of the two lovers. That sounds quite strange (we do not typically think about heartbeats as something so loud we can hear), but it suggests that the two lovers are so excited that their hearts beat louder than a human voice. Moreover, Meeting at Night allows the reader to experiment the point of view of the lyrical voice, showing his passions and emotions and how they affect his/her point of view.

3. Describe the nocturnal journey the lover has undertaken to meet his beloved in Meeting at night.

Answer: Browning’s poem, “Meeting at Night”, is primarily an account of a lover’s journey to meet his ladylove secretly at night. The lover takes up a long journey in the sea and on land to reach his destination. First, he sails in a boat in the grey sea. The land looks black. The speaker moves on towards the land. The yellow moon is rising. It looks large and low. The waves are very active and playful and dancing in joy. They look like fiery ringlets. The speaker moves on until his boat hits the slushy sand. He lands on the beach, walks a mile on the sea beach and crosses three fields to reach his destination, a farm house where his beloved lives.

There, he taps at the window-pane. His ladylove responds by lighting a match within. In this way, the lovers overcome all obstacles and finally meet his beloved.

4. Describe the Nocturnal Atmosphere in Meeting at Night.

Answer: Robert Browning gives a vivid description of the nocturnal atmosphere in his poem “Meeting at Night”. A lover undertakes a long journey at night to meet his beloved. He sails in a boat in the sea. The shadows of the dark night are falling rapidly and the sea appears grey. When he reaches the beach, darkness engulfs the atmosphere and the land appears long and black. The moon appears ‘yellow’, ‘large’ and ‘low’. Evidently the rising of the moon in the early evening has been suggested. The sea beach is still warm after getting the scorching heat of the sun throughout the whole day. The feeling of the nocturnal atmosphere is heightened by the silence and darkness. The silence is so reformed that even a sharp scratch of match stick on match box or a gentle tap on the window pane is clearly heard. The darkness is so intense that the blue light of the match stick is visible. The ladylove’s voice comes in a whisper. The eager beating hearts of the lovers make a sound louder than the voice of the ladylove. Thus, the atmosphere of the night helps in augmenting the effect of the poem.

5. Briefly discuss the images that we find in Browning's poem "Meeting at Night".

Answer: Browning's poem "Meeting at Night" is loaded with images that enhance the sensuousness of the narrative. The images found in the poem are those of the "grey sea", " long black land", "yellow half-moon", "startled... waves", "slushy sand", "warm sea scented beach", and "three fields" together make the description enchanting, adventurous, passionate, daring and sensuous. These images help Browning to catch the longing desire of the couple to meet one another. The speaker makes an excellent effort to overcome all the obstacles in the way and is rewarded with a meeting with his beloved. With these images and with the daring effort of the narrator, the poet brings home the truth: Amor Vince Omnia which means love conquers all.

6. How does the poet describe the sea in the poem "Meeting at Night"? How does the poet describe the night?

Answer: In the poem "Meeting at Night", the poet describes the sea as both enchanting and romantic. The sea appears to be grey and therefore the waves are startled at the disturbance created by the boat of the narrator. There is a cove and slushy sand that is followed by a heat ocean scented beach.

The night is additionally attractive with a yellow half-moon that makes the sea look grey and therefore the land look dark. It is the time when there's no one around and solely those who have a mission to accomplish venture out. In the dark night, the blue spurt of a lighted match could be seen clearly. Undoubtedly, lighted match is a symbol that the darkness of the land has ignited the passion of the lovers who meet secretly under the cover of the night.

7. "As I gain the cove with pushing prow / And quench it's speed in the slushy sand" what is a cove? What do you mean by “quench its speed "?

Answer: Cove may be defined as a sheltered place in the shore. In this poem it signifies that the narrator has reached the shore. By the expression "quench its speed", here the poet means the gradual slowing down and eventually stopping of the boat of the lover. The lover, in his mission to meet his beloved has travelled all the way to the shore in his boat and now he pulls the boat in the slushy sand by taking it out of the water. The word "quench" means gratification of the thirst. Taking out the boat from the sea disconnects it from water source. Hence it has been poetically referred to as quenching of speed.

8. Explain the significance of the title of the poem "Meeting at Night" by Robert Browning

Answer: The poem "Meeting at Night'' describes the lover's secret meeting with his beloved in a distant farmhouse. The lover undertakes a long journey across the sea and the land at night. The lover overcomes hardships and obstacles to fulfill his mission of love. He lands on the beach and walks a mile along the warm sea- scented beach. Then he crosses three fields to reach the farmhouse where his beloved lives. The lover makes his presence felt by taping at the window pane. Then his beloved lights a match and stars whispering with him. They are locked in warm embrace in the midst of joys and fears. The secret meeting of the two lovers is symbolically suggested by the title. Hence, the title of the poem is quite justified.

9. Write the substance of the poem Meeting at Night.

Answer:-The Robert Browning’s poem, Meeting at Night 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 fields, 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 person comes at night and they should talk with a very soft voice. This poem is telling us about the process of a relationship. When someone could not find his love, he would feel so lonely in life. Robert Browning represented it with the phrase “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 through many challenges and restrictions. However, he did it happily since he has a big optimistic. After all the hassles, he succeeds to find what he’s been looking for. The loneliness then is gone and turned into brightness “And blue spurt of a lighted match”. Finally, he got what he had been dreaming about.

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