Download Come Live with me, and be my Love

Come Live with me,
and be my Love
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher
Marlowe

Marlowe, a poet and playwright during the
Renaissance period, influenced many great
writers of his time including William
Shakespeare even though his literary career
lasted less than six years.

Many suspect that Marlowe worked for the
government in some capacity because he had
several lengthy absences from the university
that were excused after the university
received a letter from the Privy Council.

Rumors of Marlowe’s atheism eventually
caused his arrest, but he was released on the
condition that he report daily to an officer of
the court.

Marlowe was killed in a fight, but conspiracy
theories doubt the cause of his death.

He is considered Shakespeare’s greatest
predecessor and second only to Shakespeare
in the realm of Elizabethan drama.
(1564 – 1593)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CbWeIkgF-g
Context
A young shepherd, the speaker, issues an invitation to a young
woman by listing a series of impossible promises regarding
their potential idyllic life together. This pastoral poem glorifies
the simple, rustic pleasures of country life.

Written is six stanzas of four
lines each (a quatrain), the
poem presents a vision of
pastoral life; thus, it is
referred to as a pastoral
poem.

A regular rhyme scheme
consisting of two pairs of
rhyming couplets per stanza,
the iambic tetrameter, and
the use of alliteration add to
melodic quality of the poem.

The extra syllable on line 9
adds to the intensity of the
speaker’s request. The
trochee in line 10 adds to the
harmonic meter of the poem.
Structure
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
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
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;
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
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.
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flower, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_F59JL75aQ
The poem opens with a romantic line and
establishes the persona of the speaker.
The nature imagery
creates a relaxing state.
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
Lines
establish the
country-side as
the setting.
Consonance of the
“s” sound further
enhance the
hypnotic qualities
of the proposal.
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
Alliteration of “s” and “f ” sounds reinforce
the serenity of the proposed lifestyle. The “s”
sound is also sibilant.
“Prove” means ‘to
experience.’
The enjambment
draws attention to
the young
woman’s choices,
which should be
appealing to her.
Floral imagery reflects the
fertile nature of the
request.
“Roses” often refer to
sex, so the speaker
promises more than
flowers.
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flower, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
“Posies” is a pun
because the word
also refers to poetry.
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;
Sidney Harold
Continuous use of enjambment adds to plea of the
speaker. He quickly moves through promises that
employ a sense of hyperbole.
Woman’s
outer dress
Sibilance continues with the
alliteration and consonance of
the “s” sounds. This adds to
pleasing harmony of the request.
A belt of straw and ivy buds,
“Pleasures”may
With coral clasps and amber studs; reference sex again.
And if these pleasures may thee move, “May” is
springtime,
Come live with me and be my love.
another
reference
to fertility.
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 refrain in the last two stanzas contain
internal rhyme (“me” and “be”) adds
harmony to the poem (and his proposal).
europasicewolf.wordpress.com
Tone
 The tone of the poem is direct
and urgent as time is not static as
the speaker suggests.
 There is also a bucolic tone that
embraces the natural world,
including what is natural to all
lovers.
 The melodic quality of the poem
enhances the pastoral imager
making the “argument”
somewhat hypnotic.
Robert Poetzelberger
Theme
Love is the prevailing idea behind this poem, but its urgency celebrates youth,
innocence and poetry. It is a lyrical poem that embraces a natural world that is
static, or frozen, in time.
Works Cited
http://www.biography.com/people/christopher-marlowe-9399572#arrest-and-death
http://www.enotes.com/topics/passionate-shepherd
http://www.shmoop.com/passionate-shepherd-to-his-love/