-The passionate shepherd to his love- Poem analysis Mitchell.W Ms.Tate English 9

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 flowers, 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 passionate shepherd to his love was written by Christopher Marlowe in 1599, six years after he died. It is considered one of the most famous love poems of all time, since at the time, poetry was just starting to advance in many ways and forms. The poem was easily recognized as a masterpiece.

Stanza #1 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.  This stanza is the starting stanza, which means it needs to start off with the tone, setting or even the story. This one explains what is going on. A man, more or less the shepherd, is asking his love to come live with him on the country side on his farm. He talks about the lovely scenery and the beauty. He is also saying that she will not be disappointed, “And we will all the pleasures prove”. Of course, a shepherd is usually lonely with his animals, so someone to accompany him would be great.

Stanza #2 And we will sit upon the Rocks, “Melodious birds sing Madrigals” Definition of melodious: producing or having a pleasant tune. Definition of Madrigals: a part-song for several voices This personification means that the birds would be singing a very lovely sounding song. He talks about the birds having great voices which him and her could hear together. Also, he refers to the birds not only singing beautiful melodies, but also it would be very peaceful being that he explains that it would just be them two enjoy the world and his farm. And we will sit upon the Rocks,  Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,  By shallow Rivers to whose falls  Melodious birds sing Madrigals.  The stanza explains the man and his love, sitting on rocks watching the farmers/shepherds feed their flock. This means that both of them would spend time together.

Stanza #3 “And a thousand fragrant posies” Definition of posies: a flower, nosegay, or bouquet This hyperbole is referring to the amazing smell that was on the farm. It explains that it smelt so good that it seemed like a thousand posies. Of course thy are on a farm so the fact that it smells that good means that there would have to be fields of flowers. This only adds on to the beauty of this countryside area. 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;  Definition of kirtle: a woman's gown or outer petticoat. Definition of myrtle: an evergreen shrub that has glossy aromatic foliage and white flowers followed by purple-black oval berries This means that a gown of some sort and a crown of flowers could mean one thing, marriage. It would be ideal and romantic to have a wedding or even express your love in a beautiful place like this.

Stanza #4 Here the man is explaining what they would do and even become on the farm together. The stanza says that they would make a gown out of wool from the lambs. This could mean two things. One, they are just making a simple dress to casually wear, although it is also vaguely evident that it’s a marriage, or two, the gown is for their marriage which might become just like in stanza 3. 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;  In the second part of the stanza, the shepherd kind of explains their riches and their attire. The poem says that they had buckles of pure gold, which back in the 1590’s, it was very popular and whoever had it was known to be rich.

Stanza #5 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 this stanza, there is really nothing to tell of new. In the first three lines, the man just repeats the beauty of what there is around and what possessions they have. Although, he does say, if I move or travel, will you come with me on my journey, hence he is a shepherd.

Stage #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. Definition of swain: a country youth. By swains, he means that him and his love can create a family together and live a relaxing a life out in the countryside. He explains the fun of it, the delight. Just like stanza 5, he talks about that if he shall move, he love would follow. The poet was trying to explain that wherever love goes, and even the people separate, they will always be together. All the lonely famer/shepherd was relevant because it was back in 1599.

Overall Generally speaking, the poem was quite deep and romantic. The poet used various adjectives and figurative languages items to really give that deep feel to it. The emotion and feeling of the poem really makes you feel the desire of the shepherd to be with his love. The poem is a mix of a ballad and a lyric. It is like a ballad because it is somewhat long and it tells a story and it is somewhat like a lyric because it has deep emotion and feelings. In total, there were 6 stanzas, 4 line per one,(quatrains). The rhyme scheme is a common AABB. Also, just like any other, this poem has weird placements of commas and semi-colons. The poet is describing the life of a shepherd who wants to spend his life with his love that he is trying to convince. The narrator is the man who is talking to his love. I can’t really relate to the poem because I don’t’ think relationships as the one in the story are proposed for ages and teens like myself. For figurative language, the items in the poem are simple. All he really uses is one or two personifications and hyperboles. In my opinion the poem would have been better expressed with more figurative language, even though it did have a lot of imagery.