Topic 5 (session A) - Sound > Meeting at night > Task D

Meeting at night

Task D - Any Other Structural Symbolism in the poem?

The grammar and punctuation in the poem seem also to have structure symbolic effects. The first stanza consists of one sentence, of which the first four lines appear to be the unusual equivalent of a main clause in overall structural terms (the last two lines are two subordinate clauses, signalled by the subordinate conjunction 'As' in line 5) which are conjoined by the word 'and'. But the first four lines do not have a main verb at all. They consist of four coordinated noun phrases:

(i) two in the first line (headwords 'sea' and 'land'),
(ii) the second line (headword 'half-moon') and
(iii) the third and fourth lines together (headword 'waves').

The only verb in the first four lines is 'leap' (line 3), which is part of the relative clause postmodifying 'waves'.

This list of noun phrases with no main verb helps to enact the impression of the viewer (the male lover, whose viewpoint we share) noticing/contemplating first one thing and then another in (what, because of the lack of verbs, is) a static environment. The semi-colons at the ends of lines 1 and 2 reinforce this effect and push us to connect the first two noun phrases intimately together. Hence, first of all we see in the same perceptual moment the more distant seascape and the land beyond it, then our attention moves upwards to see the moon hanging above the land. These two views are both static. Finally we see the sea immediately around the boat, which is much more active (because of the verb 'leap' in the relative clause postmodifying 'waves' and the two dynamic premodifiers 'startled' and 'fiery'). Overall, we thus feel that we are observing sequentially, as the lover notices them, a number of different aspects of the same overall scene.

In the second stanza, which is also one sentence, the whole sentence is dominated by a series of noun phrases. However, this time, we get much more of a sense of movement. This is explained by three interconnected factors:

(i) the noun phrases in the first three lines are not coordinated by 'and' as before, suggesting faster change,
(ii) the headwords of three of the phrases are nouns derived from verbs ('tap', 'scratch' and 'spurt'), suggesting more dynamism, and
(iii) the topic shifts from one noun phrase to another are wider than before, so that it's not possible for our 'mind's eye' to join together into one overall 'scene' what is being referred to. This, in turn, prompts the idea of change.

In the last line of the poem, the mirror-image grammatical structure of 'each to each' matches the mirror-image word repetition already referred to in task C which symbolically represents the 'at oneness' of the two lovers.

Overall, then, the grammar of the poem (aided by the lineation and punctuation) is structure-symbolic, helping us to feel the perceptions, experiences and feelings of the lovers through a series of perceived parallels between the experience of reading the lines and the experience of the lovers in the world of the poem.

What do you think is the overall purpose of the structural symbolism in the poem? Why does Browning use this device so much? Confer with your partner[s], jotting down your responses, and then compare them with our findings.

view our findings

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