Transcript Christopher Marlowe(1564-93)

Christopher Marlowe
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
It is a celebration of youth,
innocence, love, and poetry.
Christopher Marlowe(1564-93)
• Christopher's Life:-He is a playwright .A son of
shoemaker. He was educated at the King's
school, Canterbury, and awarded a scholarship
at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He
became an agent of Francis Walsingham. He
took his BA in 1584,his MA in1587.
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 th 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.
Pastoral Poetry
• A Pastoral Poetry Type is a poem that depicts rural life in a
peaceful, idealized terms. The people in a pastoral poem are
usually (as here) shepherds, although they may be fisherman or
other rustics who lead an outdoor life and are involved in tending to
basic human needs in a simplified society, beauty, music, and love.
The world always seems timeless in pastoral; people are eternally
young, and the season is always spring, usually May. Nature seems
endlessly green and the future entirely golden. The language of
pastoral is informal and sophisticated than that of real shepherds
with real problems and real sheep.
• The pastoral tradition of courtly love poetry idealizes the beloved
and ennobles the lovers, using idyllic country settings and featuring
shepherds as models of natural, unspoiled virtue.
Word's Explanation:Steepy :rise at a very sharp angle and is difficult to go up
Craggy: falling and rising sharply.
-Melodious: sweet sounding.
Madrigal: a song sung by several singers without any musical instruments
-Fragrant: sweet-smelling.
Posy :a small bunch of flowers
Kirtle: gown
Embroider: is the activity of stitching designs onto cloth
-Myrtle: a genus of evergreen shrub with beautiful and fragrant flowers.
Gown: is a dress, usually a long dress
Buckle: is a piece of metal attached to one end of the belt
-Ivy: clinging evergreen plant.
Coral: a hard substance formed from the skeletons of very small sea
animals. It is often used to make jewelry
Clasp: a device used for keeping two ends together.
Amber: is a hard yellowish-brown substance used for making jeweler
Stud: earring
Swain: a young man who is in love
http://forum.art-en.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&p=287504
The Shepherd’s promises to his beloved
In this poem, the shepherd persona speaks to his beloved, evoking “all the pleasures” of
a peaceful, springtime nature. He promises her the delights of nature and his courtly
attention. The first quatrain is the invitation to “Come live with me and be my love.”
Next, the speaker describes the pleasant natural setting in which he plans that they will
live. Their life will be one of leisure; they will “sit upon the rocks,” watch the shepherds,
and listen to the birds.
The shepherd imagines their life together as a game enjoyed in an eternal spring. He
promises to make clothes and furnishings for his beloved from nature’s abundant
harvest: wool gowns from the sheep, beds and caps of flowers, dresses embroidered
with leaves. Even the other shepherds seem to be there only to entertain the beloved,
to “dance and sing/ for thy delight.” The poem ends by summing up the “delights” of
the pastoral idyll and repeating the opening invitation.
The poem’s images are all drawn from the kind, springtime nature of the pastoral
tradition and from music. This imagery creates a gentle fantasy of eternal spring. The
poem appeals to almost all the senses—sight, sound, smell, and touch—as the speaker
tells his love that they will watch “shepherds feed their flocks” and listen to birds singing
madrigals (polyphonic melodies). He promises to make beds of roses, and clothing of
flowers and wool for his beloved. Images of “shallow rivers,” “melodious birds,” “roses,”
“pretty lambs,” and “ivy buds” evoke a nature that is pure, simple, blooming, and kind
to innocent creatures.
Setting
• The poem consists of 24 lines divided into 6 quatrains. It rhymes
(aabb,ccdd,eeff,…). Marlowe tries to reflect the image of the
pastoral poetry world in his descriptive poem and creates a subject
of simple country life and nature of rusting settings.
• There was a heavenly like scene in the picture, he imagined them
sitting upon the rocks, watching the other busy shepherd who had
to work hard, and they relaxed themselves by listening to the birds'
singing, and seeing the river falls.
• The repeating sentences "come live with me and be my love," may
work as the function of emphasizing, and expression of eagerness.
Poem's Explanation:First quatrain: the poet asks his beloved to come to live with him and be his love.
He prepares to the creation of a world dominated by tranquility, serenity and
simplicity.
-Second quatrain presents a vivid poetic image which depicts the poet attempting
to win his love with promises. They both will sit on rocks near rivers watching the
other shepherds feeding their sheep.
- Third quatrain: A magnificent image of roses and fragrance is given in this
quatrain. The poet uses simple and available aspects and elements of rural life
around him. He makes a bed of roses for his love. He also offers her a number of
gifts.
-The fourth quatrain produces some more promises from the part of the poet. He
promises to offer address made of finest quality of fleece sheared and collected
from pretty lambs.
-The fifth quatrain describes that , if the lady is still undecided ,the poet is ready to
offer more presents. Her simple belt of straw and ivy buds, he adds, will be
adorned with coral clasps and amber studs.
-The final quatrain describes the happiness of the sheep and swains in spring. It is a
month of delight and pleasure and suitable to prove love and taste its fruits. It
emphasizes the poet's message, and waits for an answer from the poet's love to
come and live with him.
http://forum.art-en.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&p=287504