Meeting at Night" 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 cove1 with pushing prow2, And quench its speed i’3 the slushy sand. Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach; Three fields to cross till a farm appears; A rap at the pane4, the quick sharp scratch And blue spurt of a lighted match, And a voice less loud, thro’5 its joys and fears, Than the two hearts beating each to each. . —Robert Browning 1 A cove is a small inlet from the sea. 2 A prow is the front end of a boat. 3 i’ is short for in. 4 Pane refers to a windowpane. 5 Thro’ is short for through. Each stanza in this poem has six lines.

1. Which lines rhyme within each stanza?

2. What is the main idea of this poem?

3. In ordinary language, describe the mental pictures you get from the first stanza. In the first stanza, why do you think the poet says that little waves look like “fiery ringlets”?

4. What does the last line of the poem tell you?