Which of the works in this module seems most difficult to understand, and why? You are required to write one original post, and then comment on several others as you fell inspired. Please, chose one.
Michelle_Michy
20200609211505marlowe_passionate_shepherd.ppt© 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”
Poetry
© 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
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Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)
English poet and playwright of the Elizabethan era; he was an immense influence on Shakespeare. Assumed portrait of the author.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
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© 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
Sir Walter Raleigh
(1554–1618)
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English aristocrat, writer and explorer; he is best known as the explorer to give an account of the legendary city of El Dorado in South America.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons/National Portrait Gallery, London
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© 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
Questions for Discussion
- How does Marlowe use natural imagery to declare his love?
- What (besides “if”) are the key words in Raleigh's answer?
- According to Raleigh, what does the pastoral vision ignore?
- After you have read Raleigh's parody of “The Passionate Shepherd,” do you find Marlowe's poem less effective? More effective?
- Does Marlowe seem conscious of the kinds of questions that the later poets raise?
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Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” epitomizes the pastoral tradition in lyric poetry. Taking on the persona of the shepherd, Marlowe draws on imagery from rural life to paint an idealized picture of love. In the poem he offers his beloved gifts that mimic the luxuries and finery that might be worn by a wealthy, sophisticated, urban woman, but the finery he offers is made of the stuff of nature: songs of birds (figured as madrigals), belts of straw, beds of roses, et cetera. Sir Walter Raleigh’s reply to Marlowe’s poem mocks the idealized portrait of both love and rural life, imitating the conventions of pastoral poetry in order to make fun of it. The nymph’s reply deflates the shepherd’s ideas of love by making the nature images more realistic: All of the finery made of the stuff of nature (straw, roses, flowers) will wilt with time, spring will turn to winter, and youth will turn into age.
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© 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
LITERATURE
THE NORTON INTRODUCTION TO
Kelly J. Mays
