Elements of the Poem: The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd

A. Rhythm and Rhyme Scheme

Raleigh uses the exact same meter (iambic tetrameter) and form (six quatrains, or fourline stanzas) in "The Nymph's Reply" that Marlowe uses in "The Passionate Shepherd."
So what is it, exactly? Well, an iamb is a two-syllable pair that joins an unstressed
syllable in the front, with a stressed syllable in the back, creating the rhythmic foot of da-DUM.
(If you say the word "allow" out loud, you'll hear a real, live iamb in action.) So, that's where the
iambic comes from, but what about the tetrameter? Well, "tetra-" means four, so a rhythm of
iambic tetrameter tells you that you've got four iambs to a line, or da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM,
da-DUM.
On the hand, this poem has a very regular rhyme scheme: AABB. In other words, the
first two lines of each stanza rhyme, and the last two line rhyme.
(Source: http://www.shmoop.com/nymphs-reply/rhyme-form-meter)

B. Theme(s)
Skepticism
This poem is a response to Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His
Love," written in 1599. In Marlowe's poem, the shepherd asks the woman that he loves to run
away with him and live the simple life outdoors, where he will make her clothes from flowers
and shells and the wool of their sheep, and life will be a celebration of their youthful love. In her
response, Raleigh has the nymph list reasons why the ideal life that the shepherd describes is
unlikely to happen. The shepherd emphasizes his love, as if love alone can conquer any
problems, and he lists the things that he is willing to do for her as well as the splendors of the
simple country life. The nymph, on the other hand, looks at the darker side of human nature.
Man and the natural world
Nature certainly has a big role to play in this poem, and it's not exactly complementary
to man's existence. In "The Nymph's Reply," nature is a constant reminder that death is all
around us.
(Source(s): http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-nymphsreplyshepherd/themes
: http://www.shmoop.com/nymphs-reply/man-natural-world-theme)

C. Figurative Language
The shepherd: referring to the shepherd in the poem The Passionate
Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe and Philomel: has come to represent
several things, including a) a nightingale and b) a musical instrument kind of like a
violin. When line 7 talks about Philomel becoming dumb, it can mean that either the
musical instrument ceases to play, or the nightingale is no longer singing.
(Source : http://www.shmoop.com/nymphs-reply/symbolism-imagery.html)