Robert Browning's "Meeting at Night" is pretty straightforward in its description of the narrator's journey to meet their significant other. The journey takes place across a body of water in the first section and then moves to land travel in the second.

In section one, the narrator is traveling across a sea. We are not told which sea this is, but it doesn't seem to be a major expanse of water because the narrator appears to be the only one aboard the ship, which suggests that the craft is very small. This makes it seem like this is more of a channel than an ocean, as any lengthy journey would require a bigger ship and more of a crew. The journey is taking place at night, as the title suggests. The moon is described as "yellow" and "large and low" (2). In addition, the waves are said to be "startled . . . from their sleep," so this narrative definitely takes place after dark (3-4). The narrator travels into a cove and lands the boat on the beach.

The second and final section details the narrator's journey across the land. Specifically, the narrator travels across "a mile of warm sea-scented beach" before moving inland and crossing "three fields" before "a farm appears" (7-8). Upon reaching the farm, the narrator does not go to the front door to knock. Instead, they tap on a window, and then a match ignites inside. This tells the reader that the meeting is a secret one and that someone inside was waiting for the narrator to arrive. Shortly after, the two lovers are talking, which can be seen as Browning details "a voice less loud" near the end of the poem.