Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD TO HIS LOVE, by CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD TO HIS LOVE, by             Poem Explanation     Poet's Biography
First Line: Come live with me and be my love
Last Line: Then live with me, and be my love.
Variant Title(s): The Milkmaid's Song
Subject(s): Carpe Diem; Courtship; Love; Shepherds & Shepherdesses


Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
That valleys, groves, hills and fields,
Woods or steppy mountains yield.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And will I 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 thee may 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.





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