Student Question
Can you paraphrase the poem "Meeting at Night," also known as "Night and Morning," by Robert Browning?
Quick answer:
The poem "Meeting at Night" by Robert Browning depicts a nighttime journey to meet a lover. The speaker contrasts their excitement with the dark, quiet landscape. As they approach the shore, their excitement grows, paralleling the waves they travel through. After crossing fields and a sandy path, the speaker finally reunites with their lover, and the darkness is dispelled as she lights a match, symbolizing their joyous meeting.
The poem, in a simple sense, is about the speaker's trip at night to meet his lover somewhere out there in the dark. Browning begins by creating a stark contrast between the speaker and his hyped up state and the very dark and quiet, immutable landscape.
As the speaker gets closer and closer to shore, he gets more and more excited, in some ways his behavior mimicking the waves which he is traveling through.
The ending comes only after he traverses several fields and a long, sandy path but then the darkness is broken, literally and figuratively as he is united with his lover and she strikes a match to light up their meeting.
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