Christopher Marlowe's (1564-1593) pastoral love lyric "The Passionate Shepherd to his Love" is believed to have been written in 1588 when he was a student at Cambridge. It was published posthmously in 1599.
The poem is the appeal of a young shepherd to his beloved lady love "to come and live with him." It is not a marriage proposal but only a 'live-in' arrangement.
The tone of the poem is both idealistic and idyllic. The shepherd lists out only the pleasures and not the drawbacks or dangers of a pastoral life to tempt her into accepting his offer.
In the seventh stanza he concludes his long list of pastoral attractions by promising her that every "May-morning" (every day in the month of May) country youths shall dance and sing and entertain her if she agrees to "live with him and be his love."
'Swain' is a poetic word for 'country or village youth.'
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