The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd
By Sir Walter Raleigh
If all the world and love were young,
And truth in every Shepherd’s tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move,
To live with thee, and be thy love.Time drives the flocks from field to fold,
When Rivers rage and Rocks grow cold,
And Philomel becometh dumb,
The rest complains of cares to come.The Flowers do fade, and wanton fields,
To wayward winter reckoning yields,
A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
Is fancy’s spring, but sorrow’s fall.Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of Roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies
Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten:
In folly ripe, in reason rotten.Thy belt of straw and Ivy buds,
The Coral clasps and amber studs,
All these in me no means can move
To come to thee and be thy love.
But could youth last, and love still breed,
Had joys no date, nor age no need,
Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee, and be thy love.
Summary of The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd
- Popularity of “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”: Written by Sir Walter Raleigh in the 16th century, “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” is a descriptive, poetic piece. This famous poem was written in response to Christopher Marlow’s poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” in which the shepherd implores his love to live with him in an idyllic rural setting. Sir Walter Raleigh, a great English writer and poet, talks about the bitter realities of life in this poem. The poem gained immense popularity due to its subject matter of the fleeting nature of time and unavoidable death.
- “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” As a Representative of Death: The poem is written as a dialogue with the shepherd speaking in the first person and the nymph responding in the second. The nymph begins by telling the shepherd that she cannot live in his pastoral paradise because she is a nymph and must follow the dictates of nature. She points out that even if they were to live together in the countryside, they would eventually grow old and die, and the beauty of their youth would fade away. The nymph also argues that the shepherd’s vision of a perfect life in the countryside is illusory and that the world is full of hardships and dangers. She warns the shepherd against trying to hold on to youth and beauty because they are fleeting and cannot be preserved. Instead, the nymph advises the shepherd to enjoy the present moment and embrace the inevitability of death. Despite her rejection of the shepherd’s offer, there is a sense that she still cares for him and wants him to find happiness in life.
- Major Themes in “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”: The fleeting nature of time, beauty, and death are the poem’s major themes. This poem is a powerful reminder of the impermanence of life and the need to embrace and cherish the present moment. Throughout the poem, the nymph, who represents the natural world, responds to the shepherd’s plea for her to remain constant in her love for him. The nymph explains that she cannot do so because she is subject to the passage of time and the changing seasons. She compares her love to a fire that burns brightly but inevitably fades, and she tells the shepherd that he must accept the fleeting nature of their love and move on. The poem ultimately serves as a reminder of the transience of all things, including love and the need to let things go and accept change.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd
Poetic devices are used to bring clarity, depth, and richness to a simple composition. The poet used several literary devices in the poem to enhance its intended impact, whose analysis is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “And truth in every Shepherd’s tongue” and the sound of /o/ in “When Rivers rage and Rocks grow cold.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “These pretty pleasures might me move” and the sound of /r/ in “When Rivers rage and Rocks grow cold.”
- Caesura: A caesura is a break or a pause in the middle of a line of verse. These breaks can be toward the beginning, middle, or end of a line. The poet used this device in the poem, such as “To live with thee, and be thy love”.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
“Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee, and be thy love.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Sir Walter Raleigh used imagery in this poem, such as; “But could youth last, and love still breed”, “Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of Roses” and “The flowers do fade, and wanton fields.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet has used the fleeting nature of time as an extended metaphor in the poem to reflect the bitter realities of life.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem uses symbols like life, death, time, beauty, and dialogue.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the use of language. The poem shows melodic, poetic, and formal language.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. The poet has used end rhyme in this poem, such as “fold/cold”, “gall/fall” and “buds/studs.”
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an AABB rhyme scheme, and this pattern continues until the end.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are six stanzas in this poem, with each comprised of four lines.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a loving and cynical tone simultaneously.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to praise the beauty of love.
“But could youth last, and love still breed,
Had joys no date, nor age no need,
Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee, and be thy love.”
