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 leapIn 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 scratchAnd 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 Browning1 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. Which lines rhyme within each stanza? What is the main idea of this poem? 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”? What does the last line of the poem tell you?

The first and last lines rhyme, the second and fifth lines rhyme, and the third and fourth lines rhyme.

It’s about a man hurrying to meet with one he loves.

The first line creates an image of a gray ocean. The land looks black because it’s night. The second line presents a picture of a half-moon low in the sky. It may seem large since it’s near the horizon. The third and fourth lines give the readers a mental picture of waves that are probably caused by the boat moving through the water. The last line gives a mental image of the boat beaching on wet sand.

It could be that the waves made by the passing boat reflect the moonlight.

Two hearts “beating each to each” suggests that the couple are lovers meeting after a time apart.

Explanation: ...

horror and alarm

this is shown in the exserp then he beat at the door and called, but none responded, and for wrath he could have dashed the door down, but it was too stout, and he had no weapon; for his arms had been taken from him.when it was dark, suddenly it seemed to sir lancelot that the room smelled foul, as if he had been carried into the midst of the quaking marsh, and was sunk deep in the slime and weeds of a pool. then, through the arrow-slit, he saw many strange lights come, dim and blue like the wild lights that dance and flit over the lonely marshes by night; but that which made him   marvel was that these lights were two together, as if they were the eyes of evil things. and they came up to him with a breath that was cold and dank, and they seemed to peer into his face, but he could see naught of their bodies. the hair upon his head rose, and his skin went cold. they pressed all about him, and to defend himself he struck at the eyes, but his blows beat only the air. then suddenly sir lancelot felt sharp pains, as if small keen knives had been thrust into his flesh at many places. the stabs increased in number and in pain, and sir lancelot beat about himself and ran to and fro in the narrow chamber to escape   the evil eyes and the stabs, but it was in vain, and thus all night in much misery he suffered. when for sheer weariness he lay down and tried to close his eyes, the evil things would not let him, but ever they tore at him and stabbed him.