The passionate Shepherd to his love - Christopher Marlowe

Question 1

context

Answer 1

• during renaiccance, pastoral poetry was very popular, explores rural settings and nature
• Marlowe lived in overcrowded, squalid London, this poem ws to escape reality, also uses hyperboles which means it was made to impress someone.

Question 2

Stanza one -
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

Answer 2

• ‘come live with me’ imperative sentence, he wants her to be his lifelong wife and partner, is dedicated to invest his time and effort into impressing her.
• ‘be my love’ - possessive and passionate, direct
• natural landscapes are overtly sexual (referring to a woman’s curve and body) - uncommon for pastoral poetry, shows Marlowe has developed traditional form and is mocking it in a satirical way
• imagery of open spaces which would have sounded attractive to those living in cramped, squalid areas.
• ‘yields’ - yields this pleasure previously referred (alternative view-perhaps offspring)

Question 3

Stanza 2 -
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

Answer 3

-stanza alone exemplifies traditional pastoral poetry:restless and safe
- placid and submissive ‘sit…seeing’ - inactive verbs
‘feed…flocks’ - gentle sounding fricatives, idyllic place (heaven) as opposed to inner city London (hell)
‘madrigals’ - type of song imported from Italy - has a lighter tone and its content was considered more romantic - the illustration of it here is a promise of romantic entanglement rather than just sexual nature

Question 4

Stanza 3 -
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

Answer 4

‘beds’ - plural noun - hyperbolic undertone, very cliche of pastoral poems, so overtly dramatic to make whoever he’s impressing happy/complacent
again hyperbolic as ‘a thousand fragrant posies’ is unatainable - double meaning, also flowers vs form of writing
‘myrtle’ - associations with Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, beauty and pleasure, also an emblem of love, over the top to impress (manipulative), so soppy its almost satirical, mocking this type of poetry

Question 5

stanza 4 -
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;’

Answer 5

• ‘finest’ - superlative - how he wants her to dress, winning her over by buying her clothes and dressing her as a trophy
• ‘pretty lambs we pull’ - unrealistic as this usually hard,intense labour, speaker is down playing extent of effort to produce it
• ‘gold’ - winning her over with false promises

Question 6

stanza 5 -
A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasure may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.’

Answer 6

‘buds’ - indicates a new life, new start?
‘amber studs’ - she dresses like a flower, flowers have connotations of purity and beauty, rich colour also symbolises passion
‘coral’ - perhaps perceived as exotic to common Londoners at the time, very extravagant
‘Come live with me, and by my love’ - repetition of the very first line is to emphasise his desire for her and passion to win her over.
‘possessive determiner my’ - gives a slightly forceful desparation to him

Question 7

stanza 6 -
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.

Answer 7

‘shall dance and sing’ - sibilance to for lyrical effect
‘each’ - reminder of his commitment, how frequently he will provide entertainment and will please her
spring links to new beginnings
shift from ‘pleasures’ to ‘delights’ - implies surprise
repetition of last line consolidates the poets intent