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Compare and Contrast Essay

Decent Essays

Compare And Contrast

Compare And Contrast Many differences occur between the poem, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and “The Nymph to the Shepherd.” These differences are mostly with themes, imagery, and diction. “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” was written by Christopher Marlowe and it was the first written of the two poems. “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” was written in response to that poem, but it was written by Sir Walter Raleigh. The themes to these two poems vary greatly. “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” carries the theme that love conquers all. The shepherd is so in love with this maiden. He begs her to come live with him and allow him to take care of her. He promises her all the material things …show more content…

The nymph recognizes that love is more than an idealistic dream. She realizes that nature changes and that love changes as well throughout the seasons of life. Thirdly, the difference in these two poems can be seen in their use of imagery. The first poem uses the material riches that nature has to offer: “a bed of roses” (9), “ a gown of the finest wool” (13), and “a belt of straw and ivy buds” (17). The nymph then points out that materialistic things and even nature fades: “When rivers rage and rocks grow cold” (6), and “in folly ripe, in reason rotten” (16). The shepherd’s offerings to her do not reflect her view of reality in love or nature. We have seen that “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” are similar in writing style but different in many ways. The differences are celebrated in the themes, the use of diction, and their use of imagery. Both poems are wonderfully written and great examples of how poems can be so alike and yet so different.

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Works Cited

Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell, eds. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 6th ed. Thompson Wadsworth, 2007.

Marlowe, Christopher. “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.” Kirszner and Mandell. 1202-1203.

Raleigh, Sir Walter. “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd.” Kirszner and Mandell.

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