The poem discusses the reality of a shepherd's situation in nature. Through imagery and figures of speech, it describes how pastoral pleasures are fleeting and subject to the passage of time. The nymph notes how natural elements like flowers, fields, and birds succumb to the forces of winter. This reality contrasts with the promises of a shepherd trying to woo her. The poem conveys a tone of melancholy through its exploration of the ephemeral quality of life, love, and nature.

1. The Nymph’s
Reply
To The
Shepherd
By: Sir Walter Raleigh

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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

6. Thy belt of straw
and ivy buds,
Thy coral clasps and
amber studs,
All these in me no
means can move
To come to thee and
be thy love.

7. 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.

8. The poem
discusses the
reality of the
shepherd’s
situation.

9. Pastoral
REALity is the
Poem
PRIORITY

10. Work in Not
pairseverything in
and
look for lines
nature is
in the poem
that showsperfect
this

11. “rocks grow
cold” (6)

12. “The flowers do
fade, and wanton
fields
To wayward winter
reckoning yields” (9-
10)

13. “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.”
(13-16)

14. YOUR TAKE-HOME
TASK:
Look for poetic devices in
the poem such as:
Tone, imagery, repetition
and mood.

15. Setting
takes place in a
realistic landscape

16. Imagery
Visual imagery
dominates the
poem particularly
that of nature

17. Figures of Speech
Time drives
the flocks
from field to
Personification
fold
(stanza

18. Figures of Speech
And Philomel
becometh
dumb;
Allusion
(stanza
2, line 3)

19. King
Tereus, Pro Tereus Philomela
cne’s raped wove a
husband, ag tapestry
reed to Philomela (or a robe)
accompany and cut out that told
Philomela her tongue her story
to Athens

20. Tereus
Philo- Procne wanted to
mela killed her kill them
son Itys but the
sent the and served gods
robe to it to turned
Procne Tereus them into
birds

21. Figures honey
A of Speech
tongue, a heart
of gall,
Is fancy's
Metaphor
spring, but
sorrow's fall.
(stanza 3, lines 3-

22. Repetition
Repeated in lines
“To live with thee
4, 20, and 24
and be thy love.”
Creates a sing-song
effect

23. Tone and Mood
if suggests thatthe
First word in the
shepherd’s promises
poem is “if”
are only transitory

24. Nymph reverses his images
into negative ones
…that fields
hills and
yield to
valleys,
dale and the
field… harvest

25. Nymph reverses his images
into negative ones
…sit
rocks
upon
grow
the
rocks cold

26. Nymph reverses his images
into negative ones
And see Flocks
the are
shepherds driven to
feed their
fold in
flocks,
winter

27. Nymph reverses his images
into negative ones
By
shallow
rivers, to
Rivers
whose rage
falls

28. Nymph reverses his images
into negative ones
Melodious Birds
birds sing
madrigals.
complain
of winter

29. Carpe diem:
Seize the day!

30. Tempus fugit:
Time flies.