Besides ‘Porphyria’s Lover ‘, ‘Never the Time and the Place’ is also one of the famous works by Robert Browning. Not belonging from the romantic age, he writes on the deep pathos.

“Never the Time and the Place” is a poem that consists of 22 lines. In this poem, the readers will not be able to find a perfect meter because Browning here uses various styles. This is known as a fancy poem that has one a single stanza.

The theme of the Poem

This poem is talking about a dream where he finds his beloved. The primary theme of the poem is love. When the poet awakes from his dream he again talks of the love that he wants to get that stormy night. This is a perfect poem of romanticism by the hands of Robert Browning.

Summary Of Never the Time and the Place by Robert Browning

Here, Robert browning starts his poem by writing the title in the first line. When the poem progresses, he says that we are in the dream where the poet and the beloved are staying in a narrow house, and in the outside of the house heavy rain is falling.

That is why the poet can not speak gently. Then, suddenly the poet wakes up from the dream, and addressing his enemy says to get back the dream true so that he can have such a day.

Though the house is narrow he will compromise for the love. On that stormy night, they will have a warm sleep.

Never the Time and the Place Robert Browning Analysis

The title of the poem addressing the readers to think that the poet does not want to go in the past at a time and at the same place. So, the title is not very clear though readers will expect that something would have been written in that place that the poet does not want to visit.

In the first line, Browning is writing the same thing of the title and says never the time and the place is wanted and the love that the poet had together.

There was a soft path to run and also a magic tantalising weather. In these lines, Browning is also describing nature along with love.

“This path-how soft to pace!
This may-what magic weather!”

In this poem, the readers will see that somewhere the poet is asking and somewhere he uses exclamation marks. Now he is asking where the face of the beloved that he is finding.

Again poem is writing that once he saw the beloved in a dream and the meeting was so glorious that the poem tries to find it again and again.

Now he is writing the place where he met was a narrow house and the place was bleak. In the outside of the house rain and wind gets combined. It tells that in the outside rain is falling down. This is also an image if romanticism.

“With a furtive ear, if I strive to speak
…at my flushing cheek,”

On the outside as rain falling down there rousing a sound of water. To speak the poem needs to strive with his hostile eyes beside the poet’s flushing cheek.

So these lines are very realistic as here poem is trying to speak by having trouble because of the raining sound. And there is growing malice between two people and each sign. Now the poet is addressing his enemy as a sly serpent,

“O enemy sly and serpentine,”

Suddenly why poet starts to recalling the enemy nobody knows. And then he enunciating to uncool itself from the sleep and present as a waking man.  The enemy is an evil character and that is why the poet takes his reference.

From the beginning to now poet was describing the meeting with the beloved but now suddenly Browning wakes up from his dream and says addressing the enemy that do he forget his past and “firm and fast”.

Maybe the poet here wants to forget the past days. Though the poet has a doubt that if the future holds himself then can he go with it. Again, he is saying,

“This path so soft to pace shall lead”

That means staying in the present he is thinking about the soft path where they could pace. Through the magic of May, he can get the beloved back.

The narrow house is also peaceful if he gets back the beloved. Though the storm is running outside of the house still poet can stay with the beloved if she comes back. The last two lines are so romantic as he is saying here,

“Oh, close, safe, warm sleep I and she-
I and she!”

Poet will sleep with the beloved in a stormy night and will have a warm sleep. Only the poet and beloved will stay. He highlighted themselves as ‘I and she’d.