The poem "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd", is a look into the mind of a realistic (or some may even say pessimistic) person. It was written as a response to the more idealistic poem, " The Passionate Shepherd to His Love", by Christopher Marlowe. "The Passionate Shepherd..." is the story of a man trying to convince the lady he loves to spend the rest of her life with him. He describes the happiness that will surround them and the beauty they will live with the rest of their lives, " The shepherd swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning-". The theme of the poem is essentially to woo the shepherd's love to come live with him. Many responses were written to this poem, but the most famous came from Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh wrote "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd". Sir Walter Raleigh actually became famous for colonizing the Americas and for being the founder of a settlement in Virginia. With this response to Marlowe's poem he also became a poet. He wrote the best response to Marlowe's idealistic shepherd.

In the first stanza the nymph (otherwise known as the shepherd's love) begins to state an argument against

The images in this poem are what make the poem great. They make the reader understand the realist point of view of the nymph. This point of view also helps to understand " The Passionate Shepherd to His Love". The two are such contrasts, yet they play off each other well. Therefore, it makes for a very enjoyable reading experience for the audience.

Stanzas three through five continue the nymph's description of what would really occur, if she lived with him. Eventually, the flowers would wither away, and winter would come. The spring's "honey tongue" would appear, but it would only be followed by fall (which they saw as sorrow-filled season). The gowns, shoes, skirts, and everything else the shepherd said she would have also would fade and disappear in time. Everything he offered her such as a belt made of straws and ivy buds, coral clasps, and ivory studs, could not convince her to spend her life with him. The point she tries to put across in these stanzas is everything she owned and all that they were surrounded by would change. "The Passionate Shepherd..." only speaks of the wonderful things, and he only see the beauty and life of spring. The nymph smartly reminds him that after a beautiful season winter will eventually arrive.

the shepherd's views. She says that if their love would always stay young, and their world would never change then she woul

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Approximate Word count = 944
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)