Summary

The speaker switches his focus once again, this time asking what the use there is in serving as a shepherd. He wonders whether it would be better to "sport with Amaryllis in the shade, / Or with the tangles of Neaera's hair" rather than to pursue the muses with song (68-69). He ruminates on the concept of fame and notoriety, saying that fame is the incentive behind working hard and declining the pleasures of life. But, he thinks of Lycidas, just as one is about to achieve fame, his life can end abruptly. Apollo (referred to by his Roman name, Phoebus), interrupts the speaker to tell him that fame is not something that exists in the mortal world. Instead, he assures the speaker that the ultimate fame is to be enjoyed in heaven after death.

Thinking of two rivers, the speaker wonders whether Neptune, the...