The poem is titled "The Passionate Shepherd to his Love" written by Christopher Marlowe. It describes a shepherd passionately trying to woo a maiden to be his love. He promises her that they will experience pleasures among the valleys, groves, hills and other landscapes of England if she agrees to live with him. He also offers her gifts like beds of roses and fine clothing to win her affection. Throughout the poem, the shepherd enthusiastically promises the maiden a luxurious life together in the pastoral countryside setting if she accepts his love.

1. The
Shepherd to his
Loveby: Christopher Marlowe
LEA MAE LANGUIDO-GONIDA BEE III-2
Discussant
Republic of the Philippines
Philippine Normal University
The National Center for Teacher Education
Mindanao
Multicultural Education Hub
Passionate

2. Author’s

3. Christopher Marlowe 1564–1593
Christopher Marlowe was the first great English
playwright. In his brief career, he transformed theater
by showing the potential power and beauty of blank
verse dialogue.
The son of a poor shoemaker, Marlowe attended
Cambridge University on a scholarship. By age 23, he
was the best-known playwright in England. His most
famous play is Dr. Faustus. Marlowe also distinguished
himself as poet, his poem is “The Passionate Shepherd
to his Love” (A Pastoral Poem)

4. Pastoral Poem
A pastoral is a poem that presents shepherds in idealized rural
settings. Renaissance poets like Marlowe and Raleigh used the
pastoral form to express their feelings and thoughts about love and
other subjects. Shepherds in pastorals tend to use courtly speech.
The poems usually have metrical patterns and rhyme schemes that
help give them a musical or songlike quality.

5. PassionateThe
Shepherd to his
Loveby: Christopher Marlowe
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.

6. And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals

7. 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;

8. 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;

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. Who

12. The speaker of the poem is the
Passionate Shepherd.

13. To whom

14. The speaker is speaking to his love
or to the maiden he truly loves.

15. What

16. The Passionate Shepherd wooing the
maiden.

17. What is

18. The dominant mood is being in love.

19. What does

20. st 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.
The Shepherd is inviting his loved one to live with him and be
his love. He assures that together they can find happiness. He
implies that the entire geography of the countryside of England
"Valleys, groves, hills and fields/Woods or steepy mountains" will
prove to contain pleasure of all kinds for the lovers.

21. nd And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals
The stanza suggests that the lovers will take their entertainment
not in a theatre or at a banquet, but sitting upon rocks or by rivers.
This provides a promise of romantic entertainment that completes
the image of gaiety and light romance the girl will enjoy if she
agrees to accept his proposal.

22. rd 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;
The stanza is about the shepherds full of romantic notions, moves
to the material gifts to touch the heart of his beloved. He offers
her these things only to win her over.
(beds of roses, posies, flowers, kirtle, leaves of myrtle)

23. th 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;
The shepherd is making impossible promises. He is so intense in
his love that forgetting his capability, he wants to make some fine
clothes and accessories in hopes of receiving her love in return.
He also emphasized that he can do everything just to protect her.

24. th 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.
Here, the shepherd is asking his beloved to live with him by
offering her an intricately expensive things on earth. Since
shepherds were typically poor at the time. If the girl takes his
promises quite literally, she would look like a huge floral bush
that glitters with gold, coral, and amber. A fantastic endeavor it is
to soften a dream girl’s heart.

25. th 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.
The speaker wishes to provide his beloved with a luxurious life in
the pastoral setting. He tells her that she will enjoy the merry
atmosphere there in his arms.

26. Words
Meaning

27. Words Denotative Meaning Connotative
Meaning
Prove To show the existence Experiences
Madrigals A type of song of several singers without
instruments that was popular in the 16th and 17th
centuries.
Happiness
Beds of roses A bed adorned with roses Good life
Posies A small bunch of flower Joy of love
Kirtle A long gown or dress worn by women Richness
Gold A soft yellow metal that is very valuable and it is
used especially in making jewelry
Richness
Swains A man who is a woman’s lover Companion

28. Abstract
Concrete

29. Concrete WordsAbstract Words
Love
Pleasures
Fragrant
Cold
Delight
Valleys
Hills
Groves
Field
Mountain
Rocks
Flocks
Rivers
Birds
Flowers
Kirtle
Posies
Myrtle
Buckles
Slippers
Gold

30. Figures

31. Woods, or steepy mountain yields
Melodious birds sing madrigals

32. Implication

33. The title implies how the passionate shepherd express
his love through words. He is trying to woo the
maiden. The poem talks about the promises of the
shepherd to his love. He describes his love by
comparing it to the beauty of England.

34. The
Shepherd to his
Loveby: Christopher Marlowe
LEA MAE LANGUIDO-GONIDA BEE III-2
Discussant
Republic of the Philippines
Philippine Normal University
The National Center for Teacher Education
Mindanao
Multicultural Education Hub
Passionate