Poetic devices

The poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe uses different poetic devices to help express the speaker’s attempts to persuade his lover to come live together with him in the countryside. A variety of symbols are also used to enhance the poem’s meaning.

Alliteration and Assonance

Alliteration and assonance are used throughout the poem. For example, the second stanza uses several words starting with the letters S, F, or M close to each other:

And we will sit upon the Rocks,
Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow Rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing Madrigals. (ll. 5-8)

Here, alliteration is used in every verse, which gives the stanza a pleasant rhythm. This helps to make the poem sound more musical when read or recited. The overall effect of the alliteration in this stanza is also enhanced by the ‘s’ ending all four verses have. 

Assonance...