Distinct Viewpoints On Pastoral Life
Distinct viewpoints on pastoral Life
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” is a pastoral poem written by Christopher Marlowe in 1593. The speaker, a Shepherd, narrates his love for a woman, persuades her to live with him and be his love while he depicts an idealized version of the rural environment. In 1596, Walter Raleigh wrote “The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd” as a response to the poem by Marlowe. In this reply, Raleigh presents the downside of the country life through the voice of a nymph, as the woman loved by the shepherd. By use of innuendo, the nymph repudiates the shepherd’s courtship and points out how unrealistic his depiction has been. Although both poems are written in the style of traditional pastoral poetry, the speakers do not share the opinion on the life of pastoral idyll; the Shepherd depicts the rustic life to be romantic while the Nymph responds with rejection and parody. …show more content…
He was unusual as a shepherd at his time for his ability to pay court to a woman with a poem. Therefore, Marlowe’s Shepherd is a pastoral fantasy, and not based on any real shepherds of his time (Sagetrieb). The word "Pastoral" is from the Latin word “pastor”, meaning “shepherd”. Pastoral poetry is highly conventionalized with common topics, including love and seduction, death and mourning, corruption of the city or court, and, on the contrary, the purity of idealized idyllic life (Schwartz). Both Marlowe’s and Raleigh’s poem expresses emotions based on the setting in Marlowe’s description, with idyllic elements, which is repeated in Raleigh’s reply. Both of the poems written in the structure of six four-line stanzas with the same rhyme scheme ascribes to Raleigh’s refusal writing line-for-line corresponding to Marlowe's
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” is a pastoral poem written by Christopher Marlowe in 1593. The speaker, a Shepherd, narrates his love for a woman, persuades her to live with him and be his love while he depicts an idealized version of the rural environment. In 1596, Walter Raleigh wrote “The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd” as a response to the poem by Marlowe. In this reply, Raleigh presents the downside of the country life through the voice of a nymph, as the woman loved by the shepherd. By use of innuendo, the nymph repudiates the shepherd’s courtship and points out how unrealistic his depiction has been. Although both poems are written in the style of traditional pastoral poetry, the speakers do not share the opinion on the life of pastoral idyll; the Shepherd depicts the rustic life to be romantic while the Nymph responds with rejection and parody. …show more content…
He was unusual as a shepherd at his time for his ability to pay court to a woman with a poem. Therefore, Marlowe’s Shepherd is a pastoral fantasy, and not based on any real shepherds of his time (Sagetrieb). The word "Pastoral" is from the Latin word “pastor”, meaning “shepherd”. Pastoral poetry is highly conventionalized with common topics, including love and seduction, death and mourning, corruption of the city or court, and, on the contrary, the purity of idealized idyllic life (Schwartz). Both Marlowe’s and Raleigh’s poem expresses emotions based on the setting in Marlowe’s description, with idyllic elements, which is repeated in Raleigh’s reply. Both of the poems written in the structure of six four-line stanzas with the same rhyme scheme ascribes to Raleigh’s refusal writing line-for-line corresponding to Marlowe's