Christopher Marlowe (1564-93) and Sir Walter Ralegh (1552-1618)

Things to Consider:

• Pastoral Mode
• Images of the Seasons and carpe florem/diem

Discussion Questions:

Christopher Marlowe:
458:

• Describe the circumstances under which Marlowe received his Master's degree.

459:

• According to the editors, do Marlowe's works express conventional or subversive social and religious views? Explain.

"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" (1599)

• In what ways is this a pastoral poem? Explain.
• What exactly is the Shepherd offering his love?

Sir Walter Ralegh:
447-48:

• In what ways are Ralegh's and Marlowe's lives similar and/or different?
• Compare the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

"The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" (1600)
448:

• Is this a pastoral poem? Explain.
  
• What is a nymph? How do the connotations of this term influence the interpretation of this poem?
• Explain the speaker's argument in this poem.
• Compare the use of seasonal imagery in this poem and in Marlowe's.