2:2 browning

Robert Browning's two poems, "Meeting at Night" and "Parting at Morning" go together, the latter being a sequel to the first. However, when looked at separately, these poems could be seen to have different meanings. "Meeting at Night" describes two lovers meeting after dark, both excited and nervous. I imagine both people to have butterflies in their stomachs, and their hearts beating rapidly. Adrenaline pumping, these two meet for an exciting night together. "Parting at Morning" then describes indeed the two lovers parting, though not how the reader would expect. This departure does not seem necessarily heart breaking or sad, as a separating couple might be. Instead, the speakers seems to feel free and almost happy to leave. Because of this, I think the lovers have different feelings for each other. This is not necessarily based on textual evidence, but I can imagine a situation. Perhaps these two are secret lovers, one with an ego, the other with low self-esteem. Both long to be desired, so meeting at night (when it's dark and no one can see them) to "spend time with each other" gives them both a rush. For the night, they forget about everything else but the other. However, in the morning the feelings have changed. The one with the ego feels better about his or herself, while the other may feel used. The last line of "Parting at Morning," "And the need of a world of men for me," makes me think the one with the ego is a woman, which is different than could be pictured for this character. I then think this woman may also have a low self esteem, which could be why she feels she needs the world of men in order to carry on. Like the sun and its light are codependent, so are this woman and the world of men. She needs them to feel good about herself, while they need her to feel good about themselves. Nonetheless, Browning's poems are thought-provoking.