Jessica Blaine
Professor Stevens
English 002
4 March 2014
The Optimistic Shepherd and the Realistic Nymph Carpe Diem has this beautiful and romantic connotation that no optimist can help but become giddy at the thought of the endless possibilities. These words to a realist however would cause a rolling of the eyes and the thought, “it must nice” going through their mind. So, which is right, to live the fantasy of only thinking about this moment or to take off the veil over your eyes and to take on life head on? In his poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" Christopher Marlowe writes about a young shepherd in love. Marlowe main focus is on the argument that the shepherd is trying to make to his love, pleading with her to come live with him and enjoy the pleasures of the life. In his poem "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" Sir Walter Raleigh uses the young girl as the speaker responding to the shepherd in direct response to Marlowe’s poem. The young girl thinks realistically and points out the flaws in the perfect life the young shepherd has proposed to her. The shepherd seems to be very much of an optimist, whereas the young girl is a realist. Looking closely on both poems you can see the first one presents dreams, hopes, material goods, and objects while the other poem presents reality. The arrangement of these two poems is the same where both have six stanzas containing four lines each. In "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" the young shepherd largely uses nature to appeal to his love. He tells her they will sit and watch the other “shepherds feed their flocks” and listen to “melodious birds sing madrigals” (598). He says he will make “beds of roses” and give her “fragrant posies” (598). The shepherd implies that they will have a life of luxury and pleasure. He promises her “a gown made of the finest wool” and “Fair lined slippers for the cold; with buckles of the purest gold” (598). He talks of all these beautiful tempting ideas and materials items to help his argument, but no were does he mention true love or intentions for marriage. The “pleasures” and “delights” he speaks of are only temporary. His concept of time is only in the present, and he does not seem to think much about the future. Due to Marlowe’s use of imagery the shepherd’s voice is able to come alive for the reader. He describes nature in such a vivid way that it makes the reader seem as if they are part of his world. In "the Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd," the young girl is responding to the shepherd's plea. She thinks about life in a practical way, so the shepherd's words have no effect on her. She calls him out on his arguments and says “thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses...soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten—“ (600). Carpe diem means to “seize the day” however, the girl turns it around and says that because life is short, we should not seize the day but live it honestly and rationally. She realizes that something important such as true love, is the only thing that will outlast the material items. In her mind, it is worth waiting for true love. Nothing he had to give can convince her, because she knows that he is only thinking about the present time and has no future plans for them. The Nymph’s response to the shepherd sounds as if there is a bit of a mocking attitude towards the shepherd for his assumption that she will say yes to him. She is looking for something eternal, and all he has to offer to her are things that are brief. These two poems can teach a lesson even in the present day. The idealistic world that the shepherd dreamed of seemed like a wonderful thing, but there was nothing substantial to back it up. There are many instances of this in life, not just in love. The young girl had the presence of mind to realize that the things he was offering, though tempting, were not what she wished for in life. She knew that because time is short and life does not last forever, that one must think about the impact decisions made today will have on the future.