There are certain poems that make a heart hum with contentment and add imaginative energy to the readers mind. With closed eyes one can dance with the narrator's vivid verbs and spin along in the surreal world of poetry.
             "The Passionate Shepherd to his Love" does exactly that. The tone is loving, giving, and eager. Christopher Marlowe is conveying his love by placing all he would give this woman out on the table and yearning for her to pay attention to him and consider how much he cares for her. "And I will make thee beds of roses, and a thousand fragrant posies." Although what he would like to give her seems unrealistic, that does not stop Marlowe from expressing his feelings for her and trying to make her aware of the fact that he would grant the entire world to her if he were only able to.
             On the contrary however, "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" mocks this style of dedication. Sir Walter Raleigh scoffs at the idea of impossible gifts and promises. Raleigh also states that "...and thy posies soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten..." The tone comes across as comical and pessimistic as well as playful. Not crude or heartless, but "The Nymph's Reply..." adds more of a realistic edge to what Marlowe might consider a "lover's paradise."
             Both poems share a similar theme which is that "romance is essential to happiness between lovers." Raleigh declares "But could youth last and love still breed, had joys no date nor age no need, then these delights my mind might move to love with thee and be thy love." Although "The Nymph's Reply..." may come across as a little harsh and scornful of old fashioned love, it does acknowledge the need for love to be a part of a cheerful life.
             The styles of the poems seem rather similar due to the usage of the same words and the diction of the words as well. Both Marlowe ...