19 pages • 38-minute read
Meeting at Night
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Literary Devices
Form and Meter
“Meeting at Night” is divided into two numbered six-line stanzas, a stanza form that is known as a sestet. The basic meter is iambic tetrameter. An iambic foot consists of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable, and a tetrameter has four feet, or beats. There are numerous variations on the meter, but Line 4 is a regular iambic tetrameter: “In fiery ringlets from their sleep.”
Lines 2, 3, and 6 are iambic lines with one variation. Lines 2 and 3 begin with an anapestic foot (two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable) followed by three iambic feet: “And the yellow half-moon large and low; / And the startled little waves that leap.” Line 6 follows this pattern, although the anapest comes in the third foot rather than the first: “And quench its speed i’ the slushy sand.”
Other lines have more striking departures from the iambic metrical base. Line 1 contains only two iambic feet; the other two feet are a trochee, in which a stressed syllable is followed by an unstressed one (“sea and”) and a spondee (two stressed syllables; “black land”). The phrase “long black land” (Line 1) slows the line down and suggests the large expanse of the land. In contrast, the anapests in Lines 2, 3, and 6 speed the line up and suggest quick movement as the man nears his goal.
The metric irregularity is even more apparent in the second stanza, especially in “A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch” (Line 9), which has five beats rather than four, thanks to the spondee in the last foot. The following line, “And blue spurt of a lighted match (Line 10), has a trochee in the second foot. The irregularity of these lines and their strong emphases suggest the rising excitement of the lovers as their meeting nears. The same holds true of the final line, with its anapest in the first foot followed by a spondee, a trochee, and two iambs, making five beats in all, suggesting the quickly beating hearts of the two lovers: “Than the two hearts beating each to each!” (Line 12).
Rhyme
Each stanza has the same rhyme scheme. It is an unusual one, but it reflects the poem’s theme of two lovers separated by a long distance finally coming together. Thus, the rhymes are at first far apart. The last word of Line 1, “land,” rhymes with that of the last line of the first stanza, “sand” (Line 6). The rhymes then draw closer to each other. The last word of Line 2, “low,” rhymes with “prow” in Line 5. Finally, Lines 3 and 4 rhyme (“leap” and “sleep”), corresponding to the lovers’ meeting. The rhyme scheme can therefore be presented as ABCCBA.
The rhymes are perfect rhymes in which different consonants are followed by identical vowels. There is one exception: In Stanza 1, “low” (Line 2) and “prow” (Line 5) is an example of an imperfect or partial rhyme since although the vowels are the same, they are pronounced differently. This is also an example of what is called eye rhyme, in which the endings of the words are spelled alike but are pronounced differently.
Alliteration
Alliteration is a common poetic device that consists of the repetition of beginning consonants in adjacent or nearby words. Examples from the poem are “long black land” (Line 1), “large and low” (Line 2), “pushing prow” (Line 5), “slushy sand” (Line 6), and “sharp scratch” (Line 9).
End-Stopped Lines and Enjambment
End-stopped lines are grammatically complete units; they often end with, in this case, semi-colons, or with periods. Enjambment, also known as a run-on line, occurs when the grammatical unit, and the meaning, continue into the next line. The reader must move quickly to the following line to grasp the meaning. Such lines are usually unpunctuated, as in this poem. In both stanzas, the third line is a run-on line: “And the startled little waves that leap / In fiery ringlets from their sleep” (Lines 3-4) and “A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch / And blue spurt of a lighted match” (Lines 9-10). The enjambed line is placed here for a reason; it is linked to the rhyme scheme, in which there are rhymes in Lines 1 and 6, Lines 2 and 5, and Lines 3 and 4. The fact that Lines 3 and 4 rhyme reinforces the theme of the lovers coming together after a separation. Line 3, as a run-on line, speeds the process up, suggesting the lovers and their anticipated swift embrace.
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia occurs when the sounds of the words imitate the natural sound they are describing, e.g., “bang” and “splash.” In the poem, the “slushy sand” (Line 6) is onomatopoeic, as is the “quick sharp scratch” (Line 9) of the match as it lights.
Pathetic Fallacy
The pathetic fallacy is a literary device in which human qualities are attributed to inanimate forces or objects. The word “pathetic” comes from the Greek pathos, one meaning of which is feeling or emotion. Lines 3 and 4 provide an example of the pathetic fallacy: “And the startled little waves that leap / In fiery ringlets from their sleep.” The lines describe how the arrival of the boat on the shore creates small waves in the water. Presenting the waves as “startled” from their “sleep” makes nature seem alive to the events that are unfolding, like a person who is suddenly awakened from sleep.
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