Saturday, January 31, 2009

Promises, promises: The passionate shepherd

I think we might have been introduced to Christopher Marlowe’s poem at Junior School. We could appreciate the pastoral romance & the offer of a life more rewarding than that offered to Curlilocks


Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hill & valley, dale & field,
And all the craggy mountains yield.

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

There will I make thee beds of roses
With a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, & a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull,
Fur lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold.

A belt of straw & ivy buds
With coral clasps & amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me & be my love.

Thy silver dishes for thy meat
As precious as the gods do eat,
Shall on an ivory table be
Prepared each day for thee & me.

The shepherd swains shall dance & 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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