LS 14. MEETING AT NIGHT
ROBERT BROWNING
‘The gray sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low:
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i’ the slushy sand.
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, through joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!’
Lines 1-2
The grey sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
The poem opens with a description of the landscape: a “grey sea,” “long black land,” and a “half-moon” that is either rising or setting (it is “low” on the horizon).
There are no verbs in these first two lines, so we don’t know what the land is doing; it is just there.
“Black land” and the presence of the moon inform us that it is nighttime (hence the title “Meeting at Night”).
Lines 3-4
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
The speaker continues describing the features of the landscape; there are “little waves” that, strangely, resemble “fiery ringlets.”
We already know that the speaker is near the ocean, but this description of the waves suggests that maybe the speaker is in a boat.
The “fiery ringlets” of line 3 contrast with the images of darkness we have already encountered (“black land,” the moon, and the “night” of the title).
Lines 5-6
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i’ the slushy sand.
Finally, someone is doing something in the poem! We learn that the speaker is sailing. He reaches (“gains”) the “cove” (a kind of recess or sheltered space on the coast of an ocean).
The descriptions in lines 1-4 refer to the scene the speaker observes while sailing.
“Quench its speed” is strange, in part because we don’t know what “its” refers to. It seems likely that “its” refers to the boat the speaker is sailing.
“Quench” means to extinguish or stop (like quenching your thirst by drinking Gatorade), so “quench its speed” means to “stop” the boat on the shore, “i[n] the slushy sand.
Summary :
In New York, unemployed and divorced Larry Daley is a complete loser. His son Nick is very disappointed with his father who is going to be evicted. Larry accepts the job of night watchman in the Museum of Natural History and takes the place of three old security guards that have just retired in order to raise some money and pay his bills. On his first shift, Larry soon realizes that everything at the museum is not as it seems as the statues begin to come to life after the sun sets. The Museum transforms into complete chaos with the inexperienced Larry in charge as he learns that an old Egyptian stone that came to the Museum in 1950 brings these statues to life until dawn. When Larry brings his son to spend a night with him, the three old guards break into the Museum to try to steal the magical stone. Larry organizes all the historic characters to help him stop the criminals and save the museum.
Poem: MEETING AT NIGHT
Analytical questions
Q 1) Describe the scene and the journey of the lover as you find it in the poem Meeting at Night.
Answer)
“Meeting at Night” describes the journey of a lover through sea and land to meet his beloved. In the half moon of the night, the sea looks grey while the land looks black. With the yellow moon visible in the sky, which looks large and low, the narrator sails towards the land in a boat. The waves look like flaming ringlets in the moonlight. The narrator secures his boat in the slushy land. Then he walks through the beach which is a mile in length. He also crosses three fields and reaches the farmhouse of his beloved. He reaches the place just to feel the presence of his beloved.
Q 2) 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 narrator makes a great 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.
Q 3) Write a note on the significance of the title of the poem “Meeting at Night”.
Answer)
The poem by Robert Browning is about the secret meeting of the lover and his beloved at midnight. The poem describes the journey of the lover and his desperation to meet his beloved. We are given to understand that the beloved also waits eagerly for the lover and the meeting at night is a moment of fulfilment the wish of both. Though the actual meeting is described in only the last four lines, it has been done so with great mastery of description which makes them intensely passionate and exciting. The joy and excitement of the meeting is represented by the beating of their hearts together. The title, thus, is appropriate and well thought out which points towards the theme and meaning of the poem.
Q 4) 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 seems to be grey and the waves are startled at the disturbance made by the boat of the narrator. There is a cove and slushy sand which is followed by a warm sea scented beach.
The night is also enchanting with a yellow half moon which makes the sea look grey and the land look dark. It is the time when there is nobody around and only those who have a mission to accomplish venture out. In the dark night, the blue spurt of a lighted match could be seen clearly which 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.
Q 5) “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 “quenching it’s 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 its from water source. Hence it has been poetically referred to as quenching of speed.
In the first stanza of Robert Browning’s poem Meeting at Night how is the speaker travelling?
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