Student Essay on The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd

The Nymph's reply shows that she denies and refuses every single argument the shepherd states. The structure of the stanzas is quite similar to that of the other poem, serving to convey her lucid answer. She starts off rejecting his proposal immediately. She would go with him if the world and love were young, which is impossible. Moreover, she also expresses her opinion that all the pleasures he offered are not true. The picture of the world which the shepherd drew is so calm and peaceful with flocks, shallow rivers and singing birds. However, the Nymph points out that they won't have the flocks during the autumn, the rivers will rage and the birds will stop singing when the winter is approaching. Nice things won't last forever and they will have to face with worries. In addition, spring is the symbol of youth and winter is the symbol of old age and death, therefore this indicates that everything the shepherd promised will die out with time. The shepherd presents her with roses, fragrant posies but she shows that the flowers will fade and the sexual pleasure will also be gone. Once more, the Nymph affirms that the shepherd is lying: "A honey tongue, a heart of gall." Whatever he says is very sweet but inside, he isn't that kind, even quite bitter. The nice life he depicted is just imagination; however, the reality is full of sorrows and worries.

The Nymph goes on to emphasize on the material values the shepherd offers. After listing all the gifts, she expressed her belief that they all will break, wither and be forgotten soon. In this part, the lines are broken into two or three parts by the commas, for example "Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses." Besides, word and structure repetitions such as "thy" and "soon" are also exercised. Those factors in form slow down the poem considerably and make a significant emphasis on transience. The structure of the stanza brings to the readers a feeling of an end, a collapse. No matter how pleasant the things he gives her, they will all be gone or invalid.

Lastly and most importantly, everything he offers means nothing to her. Again, she states some impossible events, for example "youth last", to display her refusal. She also expresses her belief in love since at the beginning she says "If love were young", at the end she says "love still breed." She thinks what matter are not all the pleasures he provides but the real love and joys they may have together. Materials can't be the reason for their relationship because they are not real and long-lasting. The last stanza confirms the ideas in the first one, indicating her consistency and determination in her decision.