The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

The speaker promises the significant other “A belt of straw and Ivy buds, / With Coral clasps and Amber studs” (Lines 17-18). Early people believed that amber, like coral, held many magical powers. In the Norse tradition, people believed that amber was the golden tears of the goddess Freyja. In Greek mythology, amber was believed to be the tears of Heliads as she grieved for her brother Phaeton. Heliads’s tears fell into a river and hardened into amber. The ancient Greeks also believed amber came from the apples of immortality. The Greeks believed amber protected its wearer and increased longevity. The Romans also held this belief, and Roman gladiators decorated their shields and weapons with it. An older Christian belief states that amber is the tears of birds who cried at Christ’s death. Offering the beloved this precious material would add a mystical element to the poem and the quality of their love.

The speaker promises their significant other, “I will make thee beds of Roses” (Line 9). Roses grow in a variety of colors, but the speaker does not describe what color roses they will use to make the significant other’s bed. Typically, roses are associated with the color red. Red roses symbolize beauty, romance, love, and courage. Red rose buds can also symbolize purity. If someone gives their beloved a thornless red rose, the thornless red rose represents love at first sight. Roses of other colors, such as yellow, represent joy, friendship, and new beginnings. Orange roses are another flower associated with deep passion; orange roses symbolize fascination, sensuality, and desire. During Marlowe’s time, the rose was a well known symbol of royalty, as Queen Elizabeth I and the Tudor dynasty used the rose as a symbol of unity and power. More commonly, roses also symbolized lust, and by promising a bed of roses, the speaker is mixing regality with sexual desire. This fusion of regality and sex lessens the youthful innocence of the speaker’s intentions by introducing sexual desire into the poem.

Myrtle is a flowering plant native to the Mediterranean region. It does not naturally grow in England, Marlowe’s native country. The Greeks and Romans often utilized images of myrtle in their poetry. By referencing myrtle in the poem, the speaker creates exoticism. They want their significant other to imagine exotic landscapes, and not the English landscapes with which both the speaker and the significant other are familiar.

The Greeks used myrtle in a variety of rituals, too. In the Greek mythological tradition, the plant was sacred to Aphrodite, goddess of love and desire. When considered in this context, myrtle develops a dual symbolism in the poem. Superficially, myrtle represents love and desire. On a deeper level, the allusion to myrtle is a reminder of the influence of the Greek and Roman traditions found throughout Europe during Marlowe’s time.