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. 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"?
Answers
Answer:
1. The first and last lines of the stanza rhyme, as do the second and the fifth lines. Similarly, the third and the fourth lines also rhyme. Therefore, each stanza contains three sets of rhymes.
2.The poem describes the journey of a lover, over the sea and the land in the darkness of the night, to meet his beloved. It is a secret meeting, hence full of adventure and excitement.
3.The first stanza describes the setting of the poem. It is a gloomy night when even the sea has a depressing gray colour. The moon seems yellow and ghostly. Everything is quiet until the speaker’s oars cause a disturbance in the water. That is when the action begins. The waves seem to wake up and the speaker seems to gain speed. He reaches the sandy shore.
4. The poet’s calling the waves ‘fiery ringlets’ can be interpreted in many ways:
a)Since the moon is yellow, its reflection in the water is also yellowish, similar to the colour of fire. When the poet’s oars hit the water, they create ripples which are circular. These ripples look like yellowish ringlets.
b)‘Fiery’ can be interpreted as the passion of love in the speaker’s heart. Since he is going to meet his beloved, his feelings are very strong and they are getting transferred onto things around him.
c)A secret meeting is full of thrill. May be the speaker is imagining that he is passing through ringlets of fire.