Stanza 1 

The first four lines consist of a description of the natural scene as it appears from the perspective of the speaker. The “grey” sea and the “long black land” (Line 1) make it clear that the scene is at night. Line 2 confirms this impression, with its evocation of the “yellow half-moon” that is so prominent, low in the night sky. The presence of the moon—given an entire line to itself—creates a romantic tinge to the setting since the moon has often been used by poets to symbolize romantic love. After this expansive evocation of the night, the next lines focus on a small detail; something, as yet unstated, has been disturbing the water, and “little waves” (Line 3) have appeared, looking like “fiery ringlets” (Line 4) when set against the darkness of the night environment. This signals the entry into the poem of the human element, in the form of the first-person speaker, who reveals that he has entered a cove and is landing his small boat on the shore. It is never overtly stated that the speaker is a man, but it is clear from the emerging context. He is fulfilling the traditional active, adventurous, masculine role as he pursues his romantic desire, while the woman waits passively but eagerly for his arrival, as the next stanza will show. The poet uses present tense for the speaker (“As I gain the cove” [Line 5]). The present tense gives a sense of immediacy, of events unfolding right now, and so sets up the emotional excitement that will follow in the second stanza. This is amplified by the plainly sexual image of the “pushing prow” (Line 5) of the boat that “quench[es] its speed i’ the slushy sand” (Line 6). 

Stanza 2 

Having reached land, the speaker continues his journey on foot. He walks for a mile along the beach, and the description of it as “warm sea-scented” (Line 7) adds sensual detail while also making it clear that the setting is likely in the summer. The man knows exactly where he is going. After the walk along the beach, he must cross “[t]hree fields” (Line 7). The reader can imagine his firm, purposeful stride as he makes his way to his beloved. When he arrives at a farm, he taps on the window of the farmhouse. A tap is a light touch, which is all that is needed. This is obviously a prearranged meeting; the woman is waiting for him in the dark of the interior, and the answering call comes immediately, in the form of a “quick sharp scratch / And blue spurt of a lighted match” (Lines 9-10). This sudden appearance of light and flame, like the earlier sexual image of the boat as it lands, suggests the force and urgency of the lovers’ passion for each other: Love flames up in the still darkness of the night. The woman also calls out, it seems, and the man hears in her quiet voice both “joys and fears” (Line 11) about their relationship. The fear might be related to the fact that this is a secret meeting, perhaps even an illicit, forbidden one, facing opposition from some quarter, such as how Browning and Elizabeth Barrett faced the disapproval of her father during their courtship and had to elope in order to marry (See: Poet Biography). Whatever the woman’s voice and words—if words there are—convey is less important, from the speaker’s point of view, than their mutual romantic feelings. The “two hearts beating each to each” (Line 12), the final image of the poem, are presented as being much louder than her voice. This striking poetic exaggeration suggests a communication between them on the level of the heart, all reason and caution set aside for this night of love.