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THE POETRY OF CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE AND SIR WALTER
RALEIGH
Christopher Marlowe Sir Walter Raliegh
In this unit you will be reading poetry from the Renaissance Period. The Renaissance is the movement in which the leaders of thought portrayed the “complete” man - a man who is both courtly and earned. In addition there was a desire to recover and imitate the best of classical Greek and Roman writing. A new emphasis was placed on the importance of the individual.
The first literary work from that period you will be reading is the poem, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” by Christopher Marlowe. This poem is a pastoral poem, a poem that expresses peace and the simplicity of life.
Before you read there are some vocabulary words to define.
Now let’s read the poem.
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
Come live with me and be my Love, And we will all the pleasures prove, That hills and valleys, dales and field, Or woods or steepy mountain yields.
And we will sit upon the rocks And see the shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow rivers, to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle.
A gown made of the finest wool, Which from our pretty lambs we pull, Fair linèd slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold.
A belt of straw and ivy buds With coral clasps and amber studs: And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me and be my Love.
In each stanza, the first line rhymes with the second, and the third rhymes with the fourth. The meter is iambic tetrameter, with eight syllables (four iambic feet) per line. (An iambic foot consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.) The following graphic presentation illustrates the rhyme scheme and meter of Stanza 1:
Come LIVE .|.with ME .|.and BE .|.my LOVE , And WE .|.will ALL .|.the PLEA .|.sures PROVE That HILLS .|.and VALL .|.eys, DALE .|.and FIELD , And ALL .|.the CRAG .|.gy MOUNT .|.ains YIELD.
The Poem’s Enduring Appeal Over the centuries, Marlowe’s little poem has enjoyed widespread popularity because it captures the joy of simple, uncomplicated love. The shepherd does not worry whether his status makes him acceptable to the girl; nor does he appear concerned about money or education. The future will take carry of itself. What matters is the moment. So, he says, let us enjoy it–sitting on a rock listening to the birds.
The poem by Marlowe caused other authors to write responses. One of these responses entitled “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” was written by Sir Walter Raleigh.
Let’s read the reply.
The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd
If all the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd's tongue, These pretty pleasures might me move To live with thee and be thy Love.
But Time drives flocks from field to fold; When rivers rage and rocks grow cold; And Philomel becometh dumb; The rest complains of cares to come.
The flowers do fade, and wanton fields To wayward Winter reckoning yields: A honey tongue, a heart of gall, Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall.
Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses, Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies Soon break, soon wither--soon forgotten, In folly ripe, in season rotten.
Thy belt of straw and ivy-buds, Thy coral clasps and amber studs,--
All these in me no means can move To come to thee and be thy Love.
But could youth last, and love still breed, Had joys no date, nor age no need, Then these delights my mind might move To live with thee and be thy Love.
Sir Walter Raleigh (1552?-1618)
The complete title to this poem is “The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd.”
Sir Walter Raliegh
A look at the two poems side by side:
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe 1599 Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills, and fields Woods or steepy mountain yields And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks By shallow rivers to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. And I will make thee beds of roses And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flower, and a kirtle Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull; Fair lined slippers for the cold With buckles of the purest gold; A belt of straw and ivy buds, With coral clasps and amber studs; And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me and be my love. The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my love.
The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd by Sir Walter Raleigh 1600 If all the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd's tongue, These pretty pleasures might me move To live with thee and be thy love. Time drives the flocks from field to fold, When rivers rage and rocks grow cold; And Philomel becometh dumb; The rest complain of cares to come. The flowers do fade, and wanton fields To wayward winter reckoning yields; A honey tongue, a heart of gall, Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall. Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy bed of roses, Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies, Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten, In folly ripe, in reason rotten. Thy belt of straw and ivy buds, Thy coral clasps and amber studs, All these in me no means can move To come to thee and be thy love. But could youth last and love still breed, Had joys no date nor age no need, Then these delights my mind might move To live with thee and be thy love.
