Text C 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, or hills, or field,

Or woods and steepy mountain yields;

Where we will sit upon rocks,

And see the shepherds feed their flocks,

By shallow rivers, to whose falls

Melodious birds sing madrigals.

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;

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;

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.

The shepherd 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.

2.Table completion: Look more closely at the poem, and then fill in the table.

List all the things the shepherd offers to his love.What kinds of things are they? Organize them under these headings or choose your own.

3.Consider the following questions after your reading.

1)The shepherd repeats one phrase three times.

a.What is it?

b.Do you think this suggests that he is:

trying to be persuasive/desperate/something else?

Explain your reasons.

2)This is a pastoralpoem: one where the countryside is shown as perfect, with all the less attractive aspects left out.

a.Identify details that suggest the shepherd is presenting an unrealistic picture of country life.

b.Why does he do this?

Notes

1. Thomas Hardy (1840-1928):He was an English novelist and poet.While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.Hardy criticises certain social constraints that hindered the lives of those living in the 19th century.Considered a Victorian Realist writer, Hardy examines the social constraints that are part of the Victorian status quo, suggesting these rules hinder the lives of all involved and ultimately lead to unhappiness.

2. Artemis:She was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities.Her Roman equivalent is Diana.In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo.She was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women; she often was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows.The deer and the cypress were sacred to her.

3. Demeter:In Greek mythology, she is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth.Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sanctity of marriage, the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death.

4. David Herbert Richards Lawrence (1885-1930):He was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D.H.Lawrence.His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation.In them, Lawrence confronts issues relating to emotional health and vitality, spontaneity, and instinct.Many of Lawrence’s novels were very controversial because of their frank treatment of sex, and both The Rainbow and Lady Chatterley’s Lover were banned during his lifetime.

For Fun

Works to Read

1. Wuthering Heights(1847):This only novel of Emily Bront? centers on the passionate but doomed love between Catherine and Heathcliff. Wuthering Heights was met with mixed reviews when it first appeared, mainly because of its stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty.Although Jane Eyre was generally considered the best of the Bront? sisters’works, many critics argued that Wuthering Heights was a superior achievement.

2. Rebecca(1938):It is a novel by Daphne du Maurier.When Rebecca was published, du Maurier became—to her great surprise—one of the most popular authors of the day. Rebecca is considered to be one of her best works.“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”is the book’s famous opening line, and from here its unnamed narrator reminisces about her past.

Movies to See

1. Waterloo Bridge(1940):The MGM remake tells the story of a dancer and an officer who meet in a chance encounter on Waterloo Bridge during an air raid in World War I.In this film, Myra, a ballerina in a prestigious dance company, descends into prostitution after mistakenly believing that Roy has been killed and commits suicide in order not to involve Roy in a scandal.The film stars Robert Taylor and Vivien Leigh, her first film after the success of Gone with the Wind.

2. The Bridges of Madison County(1995):It is a 1995 American romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller.The film was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with Kathleen Kennedy as co-producer.The film tells how the siblings Michael and Carolyn discover their late mother’s four-day affair with Robert Kincaid, a photographer who has come to Madison County, Iowa to shoot a photographic essay for National Geographicand how this discovery changes their life outlook and choices.

Song to Enjoy

First Love

by Karina

You’re there for me, through all of my ups and downs

And what I feel you always seem to know

You find the words, when I need comforting

And dry my eyes, that’s why I love you so

More than a friend you’re my first love

I can always depend on my first love

I feel like I have known you all my life

I can’t explain how close we are

When something’s wrong

You know how to make it right

That’s why you stay close to my heart

You are more than a friend you’re my first love

I can always depend on my first love

Cause you are my very first love

Sweet, my first kiss goodnight

You’re the beat of my heart music

My very first love

More than a friend you’re my first love

I can always depend on my first love

With you in my life I’m not lonely at all

And if there were tears (yeah)

You’d catch them all

Cause you know my pain

And you know my joy

There’s no secrets between us

Only pretty piano chords

You are more than a friend you’re my first love

I can always depend on (music) my very first love

Sweet, I can’t deny

It’s in my heart

Music, my very first love

I sing because I’m happy

But music sets me free

You’re sweet lullaby a first kiss goodnight

The beat of my heart music

My very first love