Focus on two poems, Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” and discuss how they approach the idea of love. You might compare and contrast the ways two poets speak of love by responding to these questions: What does the way they write about love (or lovers) suggest to you? What do you make of the connection between love and beauty as illustrated in your chosen poems, or between love and time? What of the lovers’ gifts? What does it seem that the poet or the speaker wants from their beloved? Are they trying to convince the love interest of something?

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The two poems I have chosen to discuss are Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd.” Although Raleigh’s poem is a parody of Malowe’s work, both of these poems represent certain views on love.

Malowe’s way of writing about love suggests that his character tends to build fantasies about it. He lists numerous luxuries, such as “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.”

Thus, he avoids mentioning any of the responsibilities the lovers might have to each other or to other people. In addition, Malowe’s shepherd does not take into account the impact of time on love: he does not think of the fleeting nature of all the joys he offers because his main purpose is seduction.

Raleigh, in turn, claims that all those luxuries, promises, and Shepherd’s love do not matter because everything will decay with time. His way of writing about love and the pleasures described suggests that the Nymph’s perspective on life relies on logic rather than fantasies and passion.

That is why she refuses to be the Shepherd’s beloved: “All these in me no means can move / To come to thee and be thy love.” While the Shepherd tries to convince his beloved to come and live with him in this unrealistic world, his gifts are castles in the air that do not interest the Nymph in the least.

The Shepherd from Malowe’s poem wants his beloved to be as detached from reality as he is, while the Nymph in Raleigh’s poem does not express any desires. She only wants to show how transient and insignificant Shepherd’s fantasies are. She does it by listing all the gifts that the Shepherd has offered, claiming that time will eventually destroy all of them.

While Raleigh is in many ways mocking the character from Malowe’s poem, he also presents an interesting perspective on love, relationships, and life in general. It can be argued that Raleigh’s main point in this poem is not based on the world not being beautiful: the Nymph admits that it is full of joys. However, she acknowledges that these joys and beauties cannot last for long; therefore, one’s life should not be solely dependent on them.

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Academic.Tips. (2023) 'Focus on two poems, Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” and discuss how they approach the idea of love. You might compare and contrast the ways two poets speak of love by responding to these questions: What does the way they write about love (or lovers) suggest to you? What do you make of the connection between love and beauty as illustrated in your chosen poems, or between love and time? What of the lovers' gifts? What does it seem that the poet or the speaker wants from their beloved? Are they trying to convince the love interest of something'. 14 March.

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Academic.Tips. (2023, March 14). Focus on two poems, Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” and discuss how they approach the idea of love. You might compare and contrast the ways two poets speak of love by responding to these questions: What does the way they write about love (or lovers) suggest to you? What do you make of the connection between love and beauty as illustrated in your chosen poems, or between love and time? What of the lovers' gifts? What does it seem that the poet or the speaker wants from their beloved? Are they trying to convince the love interest of something? https://academic.tips/question/focus-on-two-poems-christopher-marlowes-the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love-and-sir-walter-raleighs-the-nymphs-reply-to-the-shepherd-an/

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Academic.Tips. 2023. "Focus on two poems, Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” and discuss how they approach the idea of love. You might compare and contrast the ways two poets speak of love by responding to these questions: What does the way they write about love (or lovers) suggest to you? What do you make of the connection between love and beauty as illustrated in your chosen poems, or between love and time? What of the lovers' gifts? What does it seem that the poet or the speaker wants from their beloved? Are they trying to convince the love interest of something?" March 14, 2023. https://academic.tips/question/focus-on-two-poems-christopher-marlowes-the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love-and-sir-walter-raleighs-the-nymphs-reply-to-the-shepherd-an/.

1. Academic.Tips. "Focus on two poems, Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” and discuss how they approach the idea of love. You might compare and contrast the ways two poets speak of love by responding to these questions: What does the way they write about love (or lovers) suggest to you? What do you make of the connection between love and beauty as illustrated in your chosen poems, or between love and time? What of the lovers' gifts? What does it seem that the poet or the speaker wants from their beloved? Are they trying to convince the love interest of something?" March 14, 2023. https://academic.tips/question/focus-on-two-poems-christopher-marlowes-the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love-and-sir-walter-raleighs-the-nymphs-reply-to-the-shepherd-an/.

Bibliography

Academic.Tips. "Focus on two poems, Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” and discuss how they approach the idea of love. You might compare and contrast the ways two poets speak of love by responding to these questions: What does the way they write about love (or lovers) suggest to you? What do you make of the connection between love and beauty as illustrated in your chosen poems, or between love and time? What of the lovers' gifts? What does it seem that the poet or the speaker wants from their beloved? Are they trying to convince the love interest of something?" March 14, 2023. https://academic.tips/question/focus-on-two-poems-christopher-marlowes-the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love-and-sir-walter-raleighs-the-nymphs-reply-to-the-shepherd-an/.

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"Focus on two poems, Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” and discuss how they approach the idea of love. You might compare and contrast the ways two poets speak of love by responding to these questions: What does the way they write about love (or lovers) suggest to you? What do you make of the connection between love and beauty as illustrated in your chosen poems, or between love and time? What of the lovers' gifts? What does it seem that the poet or the speaker wants from their beloved? Are they trying to convince the love interest of something?" Academic.Tips, 14 Mar. 2023, academic.tips/question/focus-on-two-poems-christopher-marlowes-the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love-and-sir-walter-raleighs-the-nymphs-reply-to-the-shepherd-an/.

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