Passionate Shepherd to His Love, The, is one of a small number of short poems by the Elizabethan dramatist Christopher Marlowe. It is among the most famous love lyrics in the English language. Born in the same year as William Shakespeare, Marlowe died young (age 29) in a tavern brawl and never fulfilled his promise as a writer to the extent that Shakespeare did. However, Marlowe is recognized as a writer of great importance, especially of powerful tragedies such as The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, written some time around 1588 and published in 1604.
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” first appeared in The Passionate Pilgrim, an anthology of verses published in 1599 by the London printer William Jaggard and falsely attributed to Shakespeare on the title page. The poem also appeared in Marlowe’s play The Jew of Malta, first performed around 1592 but not published until 1633. However, the lyric was extremely popular in Elizabethan times and would have circulated long before its actual publication.
Come live with me, and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That hills and valleys, dales and fields, And all the craggy mountains yields. And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing 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 shepherds’ 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.
The opening line of Marlowe’s poem, “Come live with me, and be my love,” is among the best-known phrases in the language. Its enduring value as one of the great love lyrics of English literature is undisputed. Marlowe paints an idealized picture of the shepherd’s life to portray a state of simplicity and peace in which love may flourish. The detailing of rustic dress, ideal natural setting, and delightful song suggest pastoral happiness and serve as a form of argument for the speaker to entreat his lover to join him, in the physical as well as the emotional sense: “If these delights thy mind may move, / Then live with me, and be my love.”
Many other writers have referred to Marlowe’s well-known poem. The 1599 anthology The Passionate Pilgrim also contained a reply by Sir Walter Raleigh entitled “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd.” The poet John Donne wrote a parody entitled “The Baite.” Many other writers have also written parodies of the poem.
For more information on Marlowe, see Marlowe, Christopher. See also English literature (Elizabethan poetry) (Elizabethan drama).
