Darling Darling

Robert Browning’s “Meeting at Night” is about a man coming to port late at night to be reunited with someone dear to him. The purpose of the poem is to relay the joy of being reunited with a significant other to the reader. Browning achieves this through captivating imagery that engages the senses. The speaker is a person who has been at sea, is returning at night, and is meeting someone. The occasion of the poem could be a special meeting between Browning and someone else. The occasion could also be that Browning observed a meeting similar to the one depicted in the poem. Browning begins the poem by describing the “gray sea and the long black land”. The ominous darkness of the land is contrasted with “the yellow half-moon large and low”, causing a dramatic image. The speaker then explains that his boat(prow) approaches the cove and is slowed to a stop by “the slushy sand”. All this imagery has imprinted the image of a dark night whose only light is the bright yellow moon.

The next stanza is very romantic as the speaker describes his journey to meet his lover. He travels “a mile of warm…beach” through fields finally to arrive at the farm. Most of the imagery above has only enticed the physical senses whereas the next stanza’s imagery and description evoke an emotional response: “ And a voice less loud, through its joys and fears, /Than the two hearts beating each to each”. The line “two hearts beating each to each” suggests the lovers’ hearts are beating as one but also reaching out to the other in excitement of the sailor’s safe return. “A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch” suggests this person is anxious because his moves are quick and precise. He wants to wake his lover without making unnecessary noise to wake others in the house. Perhaps their love is forbidden or frowned upon. Either way they are overjoyed at their reunion, struggling to keep their voices quiet as they excitedly talk of “their joys and fears”. The “joys and fears” are probably the fears of the sailor not returning or being injured and the joy is the relief their safety brings. In conclusion the purpose of the poem is to relay this image of a beautiful reunion and evoke an emotional response, perhaps reminding the reader of a similar memory.