The Affectionate Shepherd

The Affectionate Shepherd is a collection of pastoral poems written by Richard Barnfield in 1594. The poems are written in a style that imitates the works of classical Greek and Roman poets, and they explore themes of love, desire, and the beauty of nature. The book is divided into three sections, each of which contains a series of poems that are connected by a common theme or narrative. The first section focuses on the speaker's love for a young man, while the second section explores the speaker's unrequited love for a woman. The final section includes poems that celebrate the natural world and the joys of rural life. Despite the book's focus on love and desire, it is notable for its lack of explicit sexual content, which was uncommon for poetry of this era. The Affectionate Shepherd was not widely read during Barnfield's lifetime, but it has since been recognized as an important work of Elizabethan literature. This edition of the book was published in 1845 and includes an introduction by the editor, as well as notes and annotations to help modern readers understand the language and cultural context of the poems.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.