Comparing Sir Walter Raleigh's "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" to Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"
Sir Walter Raleigh wrote "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" in 1600 to respond to Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" written in 1599. In " The Passionate Shepherd to His Love", the Shepherd used double-entendres and hidden sexual images in an attempt to trick the Nymph into performing sexual intercourse with him. The Shepherd attempted to convince the Nymph that he would bestow her the various presents and pleasures that he described, but in reality his gifts only comprised of sexual meanings. However, the Nymph was exceedingly intelligent and conscious of the Shepherd's hidden seductions. She was so smart, that she hastily rejected the Shepherd's proposal by using the exact words that the Shepherd used in his request.
The Shepherd in Marlowe's poem used disguised sexual images in hope that the Nymph would be attracted to him. The Shepherd first offered the Nymph "...valleys, groves, hills, and fields, / woods, or steepy mountain yields" ( ). He hopes that the Nymph would interpret the images as places he would like to take her, but in actuality the Shepherd was describing to the Nymph the various parts and curves of her body which he would like to explore. The Nymph replies to his offer by stating "The flowers do fade, and wanton fields, / to wayward winter reckoning yields " ( ). Which means that things change and though the Shepherd has a sexually unrestrained body, that through time he will become headstrong and unwilling to continue the sexual pleasures.
As the poem continues, the Shepherd offers the Nymph "a belt of straw and ivy buds" ( ). The belt and ...
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... have moved you, then come live with me so that we may continue making these "pleasures". The Nymph replied with "If truth in every shepherd's tongue/ these pretty pleasures might me move" (2-3). She would be moved by what the Shepherd said if he wanted more from her than just a sexual relationship.
Through reading the works by Marlowe and Raleigh it's determined that the shepherd had only sexual feelings for the Nymph. The poems showed no acts of love, only sexual desires that the Shepherd was feeling and a strong sense of rejection from the Nymph. The Nymph did an extraordinary job of standing up for herself. The Shepherd failed in his plan to trick the Nymph and ended up looking like a jackass.
Works Cited:
Marlowe, Christopher. "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love." From The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth ed. New York: Norton, 1993.
This shows that Odysseus’ self-serving nature extends beyond material greed into the equally sinful realm of pride. In a classic display of hubris, Odysseus taunts the Cyclopes fulfilling the sole purpose of stroking Odysseus’s ego. At first it appears that our hero is lacking foresight, but Odysseus tells Polyphemus his name in hopes that tales of his cunning will spread throughout Greece: a very selfish goal, directly resulting in the endangerment of the lives of both him and his men throughout the remainder of their travels.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37.
Who can the nymph’s confusion guess? The blood forsook the hinder place, And strewed with blushes all her face, Which both disdain and shame expressed: And from Lysander’s arms she fled, Leaving him fainting on the gloomy bed” (Stanza 12, Lines 111-120). One aspect of power shown in this stanza is by Cloris leaving Lysander in the situation he was in, she left him completely powerless. It also shows how Cloris finally stood up for herself and realized what was happening and that it was wrong. Even though this was a time where women were supposed to lie down and take what was given to them she got up and ran because she has the power to do that. Behn is saying that all women have the power to stand up for their selves and exit a situation they should not be in. Women have the right and power to flee even if society says
Comparing The Passionate Shepherd to His Love and Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd. and the stark contrast of the treatment of an identical theme, that of love within the framework of pastoral life. I intend to look at each poem separately to give my interpretation of the poet's intentions and then discuss their techniques and how the chosen techniques affect the portal of an identical theme. The poem The Passionate Shepherd to His Love appears to be about the Elizabethan courtly ideal of living with the barest necessities, like.
The curiosity between both Odysseus and Telemachus was displayed clearly throughout the epic. Odysseus is an intelligent man and lives by his wiles, along with his courage. Although he is self-disciplined, his curiosity sometimes gets the best of him. Because of his own curiousness and hubris, Odysseus has gotten himself into trouble, almost costing him his life on multiple occasions. It is this intellectual curiosity that drives him to hear the Sirens’ song, wait for the Cyclops to return, and journey to Circe. When Eurylochus returned from Circe’s home after she turned the other men into swine, he warned Odysseus of what had happened, but he said “Lead me back by the same way that you came” (238) and proceeded to go to the deceiving woman. Although Odysseus’ curiosity may find him in death’s ...
The. Marlowe, Christopher. The. Dr. Faustus. New York: Dover, 1994. Print.
The Passionate Shepherd to his Love and The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd are both four line stanzas. They are both pastorals as well which means that the are replies to each other. The Nymph is replying to the Shepherd saying that he really doesn’t love her saying his love is fake.
The setting takes place late autumn in England during the Age of Chivalry. The ballad ...
Marlowe, Christopher Dr Faustus in ed. WB Worthen (1996) The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama, 2nd edn., Texas: Harcourt Brace
more of a sense that it is the outside world which the problem, not themselves.
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John Milton’s Paradise Lost is an epic poem that describes the fall of Satan and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Satan is the protagonist of Paradise Lost and has several characteristics in which readers may identify with him. Throughout the poem, Satan is not only a tragic hero but also the key character that drives the plot and portrays many flawed human qualities. As an angel fallen from the high esteem of God and a possessor of hubris that leads to his downfall, he represents a tragic hero but also a character in which readers may identify with.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37.
Marlowe, Christopher Dr Faustus in ed. WB Worthen The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama, 2nd edn., Texas: Harcourt Brace 1996.