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Lyric Poem · Love

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

by Christopher Marlowe · 1599

Come live with me and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove,

That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,

Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,

Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,

By shallow rivers to whose falls

Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses

And a thousand fragrant posies,

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle

Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool

Which from our pretty lambs we pull;

Fair lined 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.

The shepherds' 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.

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

Quick facts

Poem
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
Poet
Christopher Marlowe
Published
1599
Length
24 lines
Form
Lyric Poem, Rhyming Poems
Themes
Love, Nature

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape
24 lines · 6 quatrains
Line length
Mostly 8-syllable lines (tetrameter length).

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on a United States term-expiry review; status can differ elsewhere.

Author record
Christopher Marlowe1564–1593
Source record
QuillOak curated editionThe Passionate Shepherd to His Love (1599) by christopher-marlowe
Display decision
Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record
1599
Text fingerprint
SHA-256 ea25d7044aae8b8f
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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