Analysis on The Nyph

"The Nymph' s Reply to the Shepherd" Sir Walter Raleigh writes of a nymph's reply to an eager shepherd's request. Through his stunning use of imagery and figurative language, Raleigh paints an exquisite picture of true love versus the shepherd' s lust. In the poem the nymph compares the shepherd' s "love" in the second quatrain to just a momentary feeling, or even a crush, when she says ". . .and Philomel becometh dumb, the rest complains …

…Formal- ex: "thee", "thy" Connotative- The images are real, but are taken from the Passionate Shepherd to His love, and go beyond their meaning. The effect of time on these objects is representative of all change. Concrete- The words are specific and give a mental picture ex: "coral claps", "rivers rage" Cacophonous-ex: "rage", "gall", "sorrow", "forgotten", "rotten" Although there are many pleasant sounding words in the poem they are all dervied from the shepherd's promises.