The Romantic vs. The Realist

What is a romantic and what is a realist? Can a romantic and a realist ever have a relationship together? What are the factors that will bring them together or keep them apart? These are the questions that Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh have posed in their poems, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” and the response to this poem “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”.
The shepherd is the romantic proposing his love to a nymph. His whole life, from the littlest thing to the biggest thing, is all he has to offer to her. To him, there is no difference with how small or big the offers are. He believes his heart and the feelings from his heart is what should matter the most to propose such love. He promises her his environment such as the land, the animals, etc. to try to persuade her how beautiful their life can be and what enjoyment they can attain from this together. He tries to propose what beauty could be found and made with his resources “Thy belt o...