THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD

TO HIS LOVE
By Christopher Marlowe
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 ABOUTAbout
THE AUTHOR
the Author
Name: Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe (baptised 26 February 1564 –

30 May 1593) was an English playwright, poet and
translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe was the
foremost Elizabeth day. He greatly influenced
William Shakespeare, who was born in the same year
as Marlowe and who rose to become the pre-eminent
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Elizabethan playwright after Marlowe’s mysterious

early death.
 BACKGROUND OF THE
Background of the Text TEXT

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love'' centers around a narrator

who is trying to woo his love and convince her to come spend her
life with him. This poem is a pastoral poem, which means it is a
poem about emotions and is set in nature. Pastoral poems usually
romanticize idyllic rural settings and landscapes. In this particular
pastoral poem, the narrator shares with his love all he and the
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land can give to her if she will just promise to be his.

 THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD TO HIS LOVE
By Christopher Marlowe

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,
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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,
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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,
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Then live with me and be my love.

 Theme
 Beauty, hope, and nature are the major
themes in the poem. The poet expresses
his true love for his significant other.
The love, which he describes, offers
merriment, joys, and excitement. The
choice of words, however, suggests that
he hopes to spend his entire life with
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his beloved in the lap of nature.
Social Significance
This poem is a celebration of love,
innocence, youth, and poetry. Since the
traditional image of shepherds is that
they are innocent and accustomed to
living in an idyllic setting, the purpose
of such a pastoral poem is to idealize
the harmony, peace, and simplicity of
the shepherd’s life.
 PROCESSING QUESTIONS
Processing Questions
1 2

Does the poem change if you think

What things does the speaker
of the speaker as female and the
promises to give to hus beloved?
adressee as the male?

3 4
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How will you respond if the poem is Would you like to also write a poem for
written for you? someone? How will you write it?