CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE 1564-93

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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 hills and valleys, dale and field,

And all the craggy mountains yield.

There will we sit upon the rocks,

And see the shepherds feed their flocks,

By shallow rivers to whose falls

Melodious birds sing madrigals.

There I will make thee beds of roses

And a thousand fragrant posies,

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle

Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool

Which from our pretty lambs we pull;

Fair linèd 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.

Thy silver dishes for thy meat

As precious as the gods do eat,by a "

Shall on an ivory table be

Prepared each day for thee and me.

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.

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Marlow was an English poet, playwright and translator. Said to be the foremost Elizabethan tragedian of his day, he was an important influence on Shakespeare. Marlow was stabbed to death by "a gentleman and business man" of doubtful reputation. Just a ten days earlier,  a warrant had been issued for Marlow's arrest and it was thought that the charge was connected to blasphemy.

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