Originally posted by Rachel

Well, I can’t make Lanea find all of the wool poems all by herself, can I? A sentimental old favorite, this one, by Christopher Marlowe.

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields
Woods or steepy mountain yields

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flower, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs;
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherds’ swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

And speaking of, if you haven’t done so, we at Eating Poetry are in complete agreement that everyone reading this must must must run out and rent the 1995 movie version of Richard III starring Ian McKellan, in which Shakespeare’s story (Elizabethan dialogue and all) is supplanted into a Nazi Germany setting. It’s stunning, not least of which the opening 10 minutes of the movie, which may be my favorite opening scene of all time: A beautiful ballroom, filled with party-goers in 1940s costume. A female jazz singer is singing a rendition of the Marlowe poem. Camera finds Ian McKellan, who delivers a devastating opening monologue as the camera follows him down the hallway to the bathroom. Yes, part of the monologue is delivered at a urinal. Trust me, Shakespeare would’ve loved it. So brilliant.

Well, I can’t make Lanea find all of the wool poems all by herself, can I? A sentimental old favorite, this one, by Christopher Marlowe.

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields
Woods or steepy mountain yields

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flower, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs;
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherds’ swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

And speaking of, if you haven’t done so, we at Eating Poetry are in complete agreement that everyone reading this must must must run out and rent the 1995 movie version of Richard III starring Ian McKellan, in which Shakespeare’s story (Elizabethan dialogue and all) is supplanted into a Nazi Germany setting. It’s stunning, not least of which the opening 10 minutes of the movie, which may be my favorite opening scene of all time: A beautiful ballroom, filled with party-goers in 1940s costume. A female jazz singer is singing a rendition of the Marlowe poem. Camera finds Ian McKellan, who delivers a devastating opening monologue as the camera follows him down the hallway to the bathroom. Yes, part of the monologue is delivered at a urinal. Trust me, Shakespeare would’ve loved it. So brilliant.

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