Meeting At Night WBCHSE English

UNIQUE TUTORIALS

Teacher- Dipankar Sir,BA.Eng(Hons.),MA(1^st)

PH:  9733368512/7980804112

Batch: Guma,Duttapukur,Barasat,Dumdum

Teacher For:- IX,X,XI,XII,BA(H/PASS),MA(Rabindra Bharati Only),Railway, SSC CGL, CHSL, GROUP –D, MTS For All Kinds Of Competitive Exams
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Meeting At Night

Q.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.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.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.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.”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.