MHS SP, Shi

Literary Analysis: Renaissance Poems

Christopher Marlowe’s poem “The Passionate Shepard to His Love,” romanticizes pastoral setting and disregards the idea of Time; focusing on the pleasures that this world would bring to his love if she would come to him. However in a cynical tone, Raleigh destroys Marlowe’s world and incorporates in his poem “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepard,” a world with ravaging Time and her negative effects on the once serine pastoral setting. However, in the Renaissance style of “carpe diem,” Raleigh supports Marlowe’s idea of not slowing down for Time even if she brings disappointment.

Marlowe’s peaceful imagery and word choice elevates the utopian realm that waits his love. He says, “come live with me and be my love and we will all pleasure prove…”the word pleasure connotes the idea of complete satisfaction that waits her, if she comes. He goes on to say, “melodious birds sing…there will I make thee beds of roses…,” again creating and reinforcing this perfect world that could be hers, for the one time price of her love.

In contrast to Marlowe’s utopia, Raleigh sets up a world ravaged by time. He says, “Time drives…rivers rage and rocks grow cold and Philonel becometh dumb,” creating a world in chaos due to Time. He also goes onto say in a further cynical tone, “had joys no date nor age no need, then these delights my mind might move to live with thee and be thy love,” further insinuating that Time is the obstacle, or challenge that stands in the way.

In a further discussion, Raleigh supports Marlowe’s idea of basking in pleasures because the world he creates and juxtaposes with Marlowe’s is filled with horrors and death. Both poems set up realms with and without Time and their effects, however, the carpe diem style that Marlowe creates, sounds more preferable to that of Raleigh’s.