We will taste all the happiness,
What valleys, plains and forests can provide,
Or mountains and rivers can give gifts.
We'll sit on the rocks,
Watching shepherds herd sheep,
The river flows around us,
Birds are singing sweet songs.
I will make you a bed of roses,
A thousand flowers are your clothes,
You can wear a corolla and drag a long skirt,
The skirt is embroidered with green leaves that love Shenmu.
The best wool will be woven into your robe,
Cut it from our most beautiful lamb,
You don't need to be afraid of the cold. You have your own velvet-lined soft boots.
There are pure gold buttons on it.
Herbs and ivy will weave your belt,
Amber is a clasp, coral is a hook,
If these pleasures tempt you,
Live with me and be my lover.
On the morning of May Day every year,
Singing and dancing make you happy,
If this pleasure makes you happy,
Live with me and be my lover.
(Translated by Wang Zuoliang)
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Marlowe, an outstanding English dramatist, seems to be more intense and even wonderful than Shakespeare of his time, both in character and experience. His short and legendary life, romantic and unrestrained drama works and bold exploration and innovation in poetic style make him shine like a wonderful flower in English literature.
Marlowe's poems are called "majestic lines" by Ben Jonson. He boldly applied the flat-leveled poems (five steps per line, one syllable per step, and no rhyme at the end of the line) to the drama, which greatly improved the expressive force of the drama and made the poems magnificent, full of charm and full of historical sense. His lyric short poems are more vital than those of his contemporaries.
The Shepherd's Affection for Lovers is a famous pastoral poem in Elizabethan period, and Shakespeare quoted a fragment of this poem in his play The Merry Wives of Windsor. After the poem came out, there were many harmonious people. Sir Walter Raleigh, Marlowe's good friend and a famous British explorer, wrote a poem "Fairy's Answer to the Shepherd" to deal with this matter, which was widely praised in the literary world.
Light and sweet pastoral songs, passionate and unrestrained shepherd boys and beautiful and fresh pastoral scenery are most suitable for expressing love to the beloved girl. The first sentence, "live with me and be my lover", is straightforward and straightforward, and has Marlowe's always passionate charm, which is more suitable for pastoral, shepherd boy and pastoral.
In the first two sections, the "shepherd boy" described to his beloved girl their possible living environment in the future: all "valleys", "plains", "forests", "mountains" and "rivers" can be enjoyed to the fullest; On a sunny afternoon, you can sit on the rocks, watch the little shepherd boy herding sheep, listen to the gentle stream and enjoy the sweet songs of birds. Through the mouth of the warm and lovely shepherd boy, the poet outlined a fresh and natural picture of the fairy couple with bright and fresh brushstrokes.
Perhaps because he was worried that such a beautiful environment would not touch his lover's heart, the poet continued to let the shepherd boy tell his lover everything he could in the most attractive language. In the next four paragraphs, the elegant and detached fairy couple began to step into the details of life. A bed made of petals, a corolla woven with thousands of flowers, an embroidered dress woven with myrtle leaves and buds, robes and slippers made of fine wool, shoe buckles made of pure gold, a vanilla ivy belt and an amber button coral buckle ring. The poet generously used all the bright and dazzling warm colors and selected things that all girls could not put down, showing how much the shepherd boy wanted to keep his lover around.
It was once thought that a small shepherd boy could not have such rich financial resources to own these dazzling and valuable items, and even accused the poet of being unrealistic. For such a man who doesn't understand romance, Marlowe's shepherd boy may feel very helpless. Because the poet uses the role of shepherd boy to express his love in his heart, and through the courtship of shepherd boy's mouth, love can wash away the glitz of city life and leave simplicity and freshness. If poetry must be regarded as a shepherd boy's love confession, it is far-fetched to investigate whether a shepherd boy can afford pure gold, amber and coral.
A simple and straightforward shepherd boy will not hide his love in his heart, but will boldly open his heart and be willing to give everything to his beloved girl and dress her up beautifully with exquisite ornaments made by himself. What better way to show the innocence and intensity of love than this?
That's not all. The shepherd boy will sing and dance "Every May morning/Make you happy". The poet boldly combined the rich folk flavor of the May Festival, with both pure and natural pictures of immortal couples and warm and energetic early morning parties, in harmony with sports. The beloved girl can put on the clothes that the shepherd boy personally dressed for her, and with the beauty and vitality given by love, she deserves to be the Queen of Mayday.
Finally, the shepherd boy once again boldly begged "to live with me and be my lover", taking care of the beginning and emphasizing his own mind again. I believe that this time he will be able to leave his lover with him easily!
In the form of poetry, Marlowe adopted a two-line rhyming format, four-step iambic pentameter and a large number of alliterations, which made poetry more natural, rhythmic and appealing.
(Jiang Lili)