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. 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?

“tell me o swan, your ancient tale” by kabir “the swan” by rilke “spanish dancer” by rilke “your laughter” by pablo neruda “birthplace” by shaffarzadeh “it’s this way” by nazim hikmet “counting small-boned bodies” by robert bly choose two poems that you would like to write about. analyze each poem. study the perspective, or point of view, of the speaker in each of the two poems that you select for this assignment. consider these questions: who is the speaker in each of these poems? what is the speaker’s tone? is there a conflict? is there a message? what does each of the poems have in common? what is different about each of the poems? which literary devices are used in the poems? are these literary devices found in both of the poems? what does the speaker hope to achieve in each of the poems? how are these achievements/goals been met? directions: using the two poems of your choosing, write a clear, concise, two hundred and fifty word essay that compares and contrasts the two poems. make sure you include at least two of the following to support your thesis: tone, point of view, literary devices, and meter.