Saturday, December 29, 2012

Classic Poetry ~ "Meeting at Night " by Robert Browning



                           Robert Browning

                                 1812–1889


Meeting at Night

The grey 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, thro' its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!

Robert Browning, born in England in 1812, was not formally educated. He learned, instead, at home from his father’s 6,000-book library. For most of his writing career Browning was considered a failure among his peers, who unfavorably compared him to his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This standing changed late in his life when he developed and expanded on his use of dramatic monologue and lengthy poems. Today, he is most commonly known as one-half of a romantic poet duo. His most widely read work is Men and Women, a collection of dramatic monologues dedicated to his wife.


10 comments:

  1. At about age 15, I read The Barrett's of Wimpole Street and have loved their love story ever since. Browning's voice is mesmerizing, I think.

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    1. That title has NO APOSTROPHE in it! Dang auto-correct!

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  2. I love 'two hearts beating each to each." I enjoyed this poem, Kim. What a wonderful love story is the story of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.....and made even more special due to the love of poetry they shared!

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  3. I love the Brownings, so good to be reminded about them

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  4. So much talent. What a fine poem.

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  5. Their love story was so romantic to me, as a teen........sigh. Lovely to remember them again. The "two hearts beating each to each"........wonderful. Thanks, Kim!

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  6. Oh sooo beautiful...I just love love love classic poetry!! Thanks a ton for sharing this new one to me! BTW, I'm seeing abccba for the first time I think..brilliant!

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  7. The forever romantic, Browning! I have always enjoyed his works though I am more of a Wordsworth fan. Having read hundreds of his poems, to me, his seminal work is Prospice. It starts on a melancholy note about death and ends with beautiful words addressed to his beloved.

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  8. Oh, I love this, what a wonderful beauty!
    Thank you fro sharing~

    Happy New Year Kim!

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