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  • Essay / Central Themes of the Shepherd Passionate for His Love and the Nymph's Response

    'Introduction: The Shepherd Passionate for His Love' is a kind of peaceful lyrics created by Christopher Marlowe in the late 16th century. This sonnet involves shepherds and country life. This ballad was written in a field or shepherd's setting. The data given is about the speaker being a shepherd and thinking hopefully and impractically. Before Christopher Marlowe could print his work, he had begun to accept different reactions to his work. One such reaction was composed by Sir Walter Raleigh in his sonnet "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd", which was an immediate reaction to Marlowe. Marlowe does not place much emphasis on character or setting but rather on the case that the shepherd is trying to make towards the young woman. The exceptional subject of this work is joy and optimistic love. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayThesis Statement: The poems “The Nymph's Response to the Shepherd” by Sir William Raleigh and “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe have the same central theme, namely that love and nature are beautiful but do not last forever. Both authors use literary elements to support this central idea. Topic Sentence: In "The Nymph's Response to the Shepherd," Raleigh uses imagery and conflict to convey his central idea that love and nature are beautiful, but do not last forever. Evidence and citation: In line 6 of the poem, the Nymph responds “When the rivers rage and the rocks grow cold.” Comment: This is an example of imagery and conflict at the same time. Nature will not remain attractive forever. The leaves will wither with winter, the rocks will be unused and covered in snow, and the river will rush by, too fast to be beautiful. The nymph could also refer to the shepherd's heart as the rocks, and to the river as him passing her too quickly, leaving her behind. This is an example of a metaphor because it does not use like or like in the sentence. Her heart is the rock, as it cools and hardens with time, and he is the river beyond her and what drew him to it in the first place: beauty. Evidence and Citation: Additionally, in lines 9-12, the nymph says, "Flowers fade and wanton fields yield capricious winter yields, a tongue of honey, a heart of gall, it is the spring of fantasy, but sorrows fall.” Comment: This is an example of imagery and connects to the central idea. This ties into the central idea that love and nature are beautiful, but do not last forever because, just like the few lines above, the beauty of nature will fade, giving way to darkness and cold of winter. In the 16th century, shepherds were known to lie to nymphs to gain female companionship on their travels so that they would not feel alone. The “heart of gall” refers to the shepherd and how his heart will become bitter over time. The tongue of honey is the gentle conversation of the shepherd, trying to woo her to come with him. This is an example of conflict because the nymph knows what the shepherd is trying to do and she rejects him. Evidence and Citation: Another example of imagery is found in line 5: “Time leads the flock from the field to the fold.” Comment: The nymph knows that the sheep will move away from the field where they reside, and follow the shepherd out of sight, the couple will therefore no longer be able to see them. Nature is no longer beautiful and love will eventually disappear. Thematic sentence: In the poem “The Shepherd.