The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

Poet: Christopher Marlowe
Year Published: 1599

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The Passionate Shepherd to His Love



Come live with me and be my love,


And we will all the pleasures prove

That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,

Woods, or steepy mountain yields.



And we will sit upon 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 poises,

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's 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.


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This poem is among the most famous and controversial pieces during the Renaissance period. It manifests the pastoral style of writing, which is an early example of its kind during that era.  
 
Written by the English poet Christopher Marlowe, the poem was published six years after the poet's death. It tackles about a young shepherd who falls in love and courts his beloved.
 
In the first stanza, you can already see the lover's desire to be with his beloved. The first line is an invitation to the beloved to live with him and share his lifestyle.
 
The following stanzas further talks about the sweet promises of the shepherd just to make the beloved come with him. He promises to make her a gown, slippers and buckles out of materials from the field.
 
As you may have noticed, the poem is on the style of romanticism, and idealism. The persona promises to do everything for the beloved even to the point of exaggeration.

And Then There Were None

Type: Prose
Genre: Novel (Fiction, Mystery)
Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 2001
Publisher: St. Martin's Press


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Summary


Ten individuals from different walks of life were summoned as guests to a private island in Devon. It was a vacation that each of them looked forward to. Until, they discovered that their millionaire host was nowhere to be found. Apart from that, each of the guests wicked past was revealed by a mysterious voice from a gramophone record. It was the signal of the game. Each of them were players chased to pay for the crimes they committed. Their hours are numbered and all of them are prey to the unknown killer. There are no clues as to who will be the next victim. What they only have is the childish nursery rhyme hung on every room that hints the manner of death of every victim.



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And Then There Were None is a charming mystery novel that leads the reader to the next page till he's left unaware that he's come to the end.


It is a mystery that will intrigue you till the last chapter which only proves that Agatha Christie is really the Queen of Crime.

There are only 10 characters in the story. Each of them is suspicious. Each could be a suspect. From the very start, you'll already start wondering, who is their host. Who is the killer whn everyone seems to be innocent yet suspicious.

You will start analyzing the whole situation and have suspects. But then when you reach the last chapters, you'll be lost for you will realize that you were wrong all along for suspecting a certain character. Worst, you don't have any idea again on who's the villain.

Well, just read the book now for yourself. I'm sure you'll never even put it down.


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Memorable Lines from the Book



"Self-preservation's a man's first duty." - Philip Lombard

"In the midst of life we are in death." - Emily Brent

"Providence leaves the work of conviction and chastisement to us mortals - and the process is often fraught with difficulties. There are no short cuts." - William Henry Blore

"When a man's neck's in danger, he doesn't stop to think too much about sentiment." - William Henry Blore

"No good result can come from recrimination." - Justice Wargrave.