"The Passionate Shepherd" is a poem written by the English poet Christopher Marlowe, likely in the early 1590s. It was one of the most popular and widely read poems of the English Renaissance; many poets, such as Sir Walter Ralegh, wrote responses praising, criticizing, and poking fun at it. In the poem, the speaker tries to seduce someone whom he refers to simply as his "love." In order to seduce this person, he describes a rural life full of intense sensual pleasure—but unpolluted by sin or sorrow. The resulting tableau is both beautiful and idealized: in his attempt to seduce his "love," the shepherd leaves out much of the complication and sorrow that mark real relationships.
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
1Come live with me and be my love,
2And we will all the pleasures prove,
3That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
4Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
5And we will sit upon the Rocks,
6Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,
7By shallow Rivers to whose falls
8Melodious birds sing Madrigals.
9And I will make thee beds of Roses
10And a thousand fragrant posies,
11A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
12Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle;
13A gown made of the finest wool
14Which from our pretty Lambs we pull;
15Fair lined slippers for the cold,
16With buckles of the purest gold;
17A belt of straw and Ivy buds,
18With Coral clasps and Amber studs:
19And if these pleasures may thee move,
20Come live with me, and be my love.
21The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing
22For thy delight each May-morning:
23If these delights thy mind may move,
24Then live with me, and be my love.
The Full Text of “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
1Come live with me and be my love,
2And we will all the pleasures prove,
3That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
4Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
5And we will sit upon the Rocks,
6Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,
7By shallow Rivers to whose falls
8Melodious birds sing Madrigals.
9And I will make thee beds of Roses
10And a thousand fragrant posies,
11A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
12Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle;
13A gown made of the finest wool
14Which from our pretty Lambs we pull;
15Fair lined slippers for the cold,
16With buckles of the purest gold;
17A belt of straw and Ivy buds,
18With Coral clasps and Amber studs:
19And if these pleasures may thee move,
20Come live with me, and be my love.
21The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing
22For thy delight each May-morning:
23If these delights thy mind may move,
24Then live with me, and be my love.
-
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” Summary
-
-
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” Themes
-
Love and Pleasure
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
Country vs. City
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
The Nobility of Pastoral Work
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
-
Lines 1-4
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. -
Lines 5-12
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; -
Lines 13-20
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. -
Lines 21-24
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” Symbols
-
Shepherds
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
Myrtle
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
Lambs
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
Ivy
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
-
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Hyperbole
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
End-Stopped Line
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Enjambment
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Refrain
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Alliteration
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Assonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Consonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Caesura
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Apostrophe
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Allusion
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Personification
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
-
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Prove
- Steepy
- Madrigals
- Kirtle
- Pull
- Coral
- Amber
- Studs
- Swains
-
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” Speaker
-
-
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
-
-
More “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” Resources
-
External Resources
-
Another of the Same Nature, Made Since — Another response to Marlowe's poem, this one anonymous.
-
A Reading of "The Passionate Shepherd" — A reading of "The Passionate Shepherd."
-
The Mysterious Passionate Pilgrim — A blog entry with information about the book The Passionate Pilgrim, in which "The Passionate Shepherd" was first printed, alongside several of Shakespeare's Sonnets.
-
Early Printings of "The Passionate Shepherd" — This page contains information about and images of the first printed versions of Marlowe's poem.
-
The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd — Sir Walter Ralegh's response to Marlowe's poem.
-
Pastoral — A guide to the pastoral genre, from the Encyclopedia Britannica.
-
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
