The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd and The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

Alliteration

In the two poems The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd by Sir Walter Raleigh; and

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe, instances of alliteration

are seen to be important. Raleigh uses alliteration in each paragraph to signify what the

nymph is, while Marlowe uses alliteration less, but uses it to create feelings. According to

Oregon State University, alliteration is used in poems to create a “lyrical” poem, to evoke

an “emotive effect”. In both poems, alliteration is seen to introduce the flow of the poem;

seen in instances such as “pleasures prove,” and “might me move”. For Marlowe’s poem,

instances of alliteration can be interpreted as important moments. He creates emotions

when he ties the sounds to one another, and this can make the readers remember these

texts more. For instance, when he uses alliteration in the first paragraph; “pleasures

prove”, the reader can interpret this as him hinting at thoughts of lust. He continues to use

alliteration to create ideas for the audience, and further attract attention to the text.

With Raleigh, he also creates feelings for the audience by using alliteration, but

alliteration allows Raleigh to have the ability to make a character of the supernatural. His

character’s response can be assumed to be witty and melodic due to the use of

alliteration, seen in instances such as “flowers do fade,” or “wayward winter”. From this

lyrical flow, the nymph can be assumed to be a fairy-like creature. The comparison

between the Nymph’s tone in speech and the Shepherd’s tone in speech can infer that the

nymph is a mythical creature while the Shepherd is human. This is seen in the difference

between the use of alliteration by phrases like “flocks from field to fold;” stated by the

nymph and “Seeing the Shepherds,” and “feed their flocks;” stated by the Shepherd. The
nymph is cunning whereas the Shepherd is romantic. The poem with the nymph creates a

melody for the readers to visualize, while the poem with the Shepherd signifies the

Shepherd's love and admiration for someone.

 Works Cited

Bude, Tekla. “What is Alliteration? || Definition & Examples | | College of Liberal Arts | Oregon

State University.” College of Liberal Arts,

https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-alliteration. Accessed 14 May 2023.

Marlowe, Christopher. “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by….” Poetry Foundation,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44675/the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love.

Accessed 14 May 2023.

Raleigh, Sir Walter. “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd by Sir Walter….” Poetry Foundation,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44939/the-nymphs-reply-to-the-shepherd.

Accessed 14 May 2023.