Christopher Marlowe, the pioneer of English drama and University Wits, brought vitality and grandeur into the blank verse with his mighty lines. He carried strong emotion in famous dramas, such as Dr. Faustus, Tamburlaine and The Jew of Malta. However, what impressed me most is his non-drama The Passionate Shepherd to his Love, the most beautiful lyrics describing spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings for pastoral life.
Indeed，the countryside life constitutes a beautiful landscape emphasizing the shepherd’s pure and strong emotion to his love. Firstly we can see the following sentences: “Come, live with me, and be my love. And we will all the pleasures prove. That valleys, groves, or hills, or fields or woods and steep mountains yield’’, the author lively expresses the most sincere words to his dearest and closest one, then he creates a picture about where there are vast valleys, abundant groves, green hills and the endless fields, steep mountains and thick woods, which makes us imagine how miracle the world is .It seems as if he added the strong vigor to natural livings. We have to say that his love is the happiest in the world, and they together enjoy the beautiful feelings. In other words, the shepherd’s purest love is praised highly by us, even the picturesque nature sings for the love. “Where we will sit upon the rocks, and see the shepherds feed our flocks. By shallow rivers, to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals” he shows another image about shepherd, his love, rocks, rivers, and birds. It is the harmonious vision that makes us feel in a leisurely fashion. We sometimes want a comfortable circumstance in which we can share the beautiful love with our dearest ones. “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”. This part is well joined with other part in this poem. Precisely, Christopher Marlowe describes his deep emotion by various living creatures, so we can not help but to be lost in those pleased livings. These roses, fragrant posies, a kirtle, a gown of finest wool, actually imaginable and colorful, weave the numerous imaginative net of the love world for human beings. Undeniably, we us promise for love and long for the love without cease. We need a sweet love, and we need protect love. In the modern society, it is difficult to love in such quiet and relaxed way, or in such comfortable atmosphere. Hence, as described in this poem, these natural creatures give us not only release our mind but also relax our body; we can comprehend deep love and experience it in truth of love. “Come with me, and be my love” this is direct and spontaneous feeling of the shepherd. I believe love is the most enjoyable and thus we pursue the romantic love every time. Whether how awkward plight we are in, we are confident of processing the hot heart to melt the coldness and cruelness. We cheer heavily for our purest love or we enjoy fully the pastoral love.
Admittedly, in the real life we may not see so wonderful love in such unimaginable environment as this poem put. Form another view of point, I contend that owing to acquire no true love, so the author put so pretty picture into his inner world, and then shelter sadness and sorrow of his heart by this poem. As a matter of fact, the countryside life with tranquility is compared to the love with strong persistence. Although we see all with gorgeous images, romantic love, happiness, Marlowe’s love is not found in reality, which is key to depressed expression to true love. However, this poem tends to embody a good spirit of love. it is nothing worthy that the love between the shepherd and his love remain in the picture of mountains and rivers, and it is union of soul and nature.
Overall, this poem is the well-known pastoral lyrics, which considered to be one of the most beautiful lyrics in English literature. The shepherd enjoyed an ideal country life, cherishing a pastoral and pure affect for his love. Strong emotion is conveys through the beauty of nature. I have to say that love is the most wonderful.