However, the fact that he offers her these pleasures shows that he loves her. There is no guarantee that the lady will find these country enticements enough to follow the Shepherd, and since the construction of them is preposterous and fantastical to begin with, the reader is left with the very real possibility that the Shepherd will be disappointed. The insistence of Leander's feminine beauty, not once but twice in this poem, is seen by some critics as evidence of Marlowe's homosexuality. The idea traces its roots back to the ancient Roman poet Horace and emphasizes living in the moment, enjoying the present and pursuing joy in life. This was the first English play written in , and was based on the story of a conqueror, Tamburlaine, who rose from being a shepherd to being a warlord. Historical Context This poem is also an example of carpe diem poetry. This second stanza, if taken by itself, exemplifies the traditional pastoral theme of the restful shepherd watching his flocks, enjoying in quiet repose the countryside and all it offers.
Usually they are about the same experience or experiences, and are also usually written in the same form. Much like pastoral poetry is able to reimagine an impoverished, rural landscape as a type of artistic Eden, the speaker is able to paint their future life together as simple and happy. 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. While the delights of the countryside and the rural life of manual labor are celebrated, the poet and the reader is assumed to be noble, or at least above manual labor. This 16th Century poem centers around a shepherd painting an idyllic picture of what country life will be like to the woman he loves. I just want to know.
The woman's response is never heard, and she is not present in any way except as the object of the shepherd's desire. GradeSaver, 28 December 2008 Web. Marlowe worked on tragedy and he wrote four important plays developing tragedy as a dramatic form. Each line contains exactly four heavy stresses, and the metrical feet are almost always iambic. The isolation of the shepherd is thus removed in Marlowe's poem. I think that says something.
The Shepherd may not have been real, but the emotions and effects created by this poem have their own reality. It is said that his works contained the true spirit of Elizabethan era. This reveals the theme of poetry as a way to recast the world in ideal terms and elevate it out of reality. Not only offers the beautiful scenery and gorgeous clothes to exchange her love. The poem is static in time, with no history or clearly defined future.
Virgil talks about a young boy named Alexis whom Corydon is trying to woo. Critics considered Marlowe to be the father of English tragedy and blank verse. At 23, he went to London and became one of the most important dramatist before William Shakespeare. The long-haired Leander lives across the water in Abydos. Marlowe took a story from Greek myths intact, but made the characters believable to an Elizabethan audience. This is another convention of pastoral poetry. Instead, he asks her to come and live with him and seek pleasure in the moment.
The shepherd makes a number of elaborate promises that are generally improbable and occasionally impossible. The meter, though seemingly regular, gives a great deal of meaning and music to this poem. The poem as it stands, however, can be judged as a complete work of art. The very first line begins 'Come live with me, and be my love. His value of the world around him is shown when he offers to his love not money but true happiness which can only come when one disregards the stiff lifestile of the material world and joins the dreamland of mother nature.
Iambic meter has a certain pace and tone when read out loud, the emphasis is on the second syllable rather than the first, as oppose to trochee, where the emphasis is on the first syllable rather than the second. GradeSaver, 28 December 2008 Web. Companion poems are two separate poems that are similar. But it is a completely complementary line to the one above it which contains an almost perfect match of nine iambic syllables , and creates movement and motion in the poem. Her gown will be 'of the finest wool' and adorned with leaves. Hero is so beautiful that the love-god Cupid mistakes her for that most beautiful of the goddesses, his mother Venus. Line endings, too, can create variety within regularity, and also call attention to the subject matter of the lines.
The language of pastoral is informal and sophisticated than that of real shepherds with real problems and real sheep. Incidentally, the plants mentioned roses, flowers, and myrtle are conventional horticultural expressions of romance. I want us to sit upon the rocks with shallow rivers falling under our feet, seeing those shepherds far away feeding their sheep, and hearing birds sing beautifully around us. Posted on 2008-02-07 by a guest. The Shepherd professes all that is ideal about love: 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 Marlowe 239 — 240.