Marlowe Sexism

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The poem is a rather sexist piece, not in the case of sheer misogyny, but in the sense that it assumes what it is a woman is to want. It takes common stereotypes of how to romance a woman, common tropes used so much they have lost all flavor and have become bland, meaningless gestures. Additionally, they are used to conceal an inner desire; the speakers lust for the woman. In perhaps the only stanza where Marlowe slips and reveals his inner desires, we are shown one of the most sexist lines in the entirety of the poem. The reason behind the sexism is because the structure of the line treats the woman as if she is to be subservient to Marlowe and that she is to belong to him. “Come live with me and be my love” (1). She is to be swooped out of where she currently lives and who she may currently love and change it all to be him. She is to be …show more content…

She is to fall for him and belong to him, not the other way around. Additionally, the line is not written as a question or a suggestion, but as a command. The command further adds to the sense of subservience and the sexism. The sexism comes into play since she, as the woman, is supposed to listen to his command and move from her current life to live with him in his. The line immediately after the first further increases the sexism and subservience of women in addition to adding sex into the mix. Marlowe is wise in concealing this however; he hides his inner desires and sexism within the veil of pastoral pleasures. He claims that they “will all the pleasures prove” (2); he says that they will see all the pleasures of pastoral life. At first glance, this may seem as though they are going to frolic

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