An Analysis of “Parting at Morning,” by Robert Browning

Robert Browning’s “Parting at Morning” is an implied continuation of his  poem “Meeting at Night”. A reader can interpret that the poet is providing the alternate perspective of the romantic relationship at hand. Browning implies that the rising of the sun signifies that it is time for the pair to part from the bliss they find in each other, in order to return to the real world. This is reflected in the image of the speaker’s companion being carried off by a path of sunlight, as the speaker comes to terms with his/her own worldly duties. 

Robert Browning set his poem, “Parting in Morning,” around the real event of two lovers parting when the morning arrives in order to return to their worldly tasks. This idea is portrayed using metaphysical elements. The speaker refers to time as “the sea,” that tuned “round the cape”(Browning, 1845). This makes it appear as though time ambushed  the couple to cut their meeting short. The sun is described as “[looking] over the mountain’s rim,” as it made a “straight path” for the speaker’s company to leave through (Browning, 1845). The sun is symbolic of the worldly duties interrupting the couple’s bliss. 

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