Scarce had the morning starre hid from the light
Heavens crimson canopie with stars bespangled,
But I began to rue th' unhappy sight
Of that faire boy that had my hart intangled;
Cursing the time, the place, the sense, the sin;
I came, I saw, I viewd, I slipped in.

If it be sinne to love a sweet-fac'd boy,
Whose amber locks trust up in golden tramels
Dangle adowne his lovely cheekes with joy,
When pearle and flowers his faire haire enamels;
If it be sinne to love a lovely lad,
Oh then sinne I, for whom my soule is sad.

The opening two stanzas of this lyric poem could be said to place the reader immediately in a world of homoeroticism. It was published in 1594 when Barnfield was 20 years old and although it had some success, it seems to have suffered because of of its content. This first poem in the collection was subtitled 'The teares of an affectionate shepheard sicke for the love or the complaint of Daphnis for the love of Ganimede' It is Daphnis who is telling the story and he reveals that Queen Guendolen also has designs on the beautiful boy Ganimede. Queen Guendolen is herself being wooed by an older man but:

Now doth he stroke his beard, and now againe
He wipes the drivel from his filthy chin;
Now offers he a kisse, but high Disdaine
Will not permit her hart to pity him:

This seems all too much for Daphnis as he again thinks of the beautiful boy Ganimede and he gets more sensual:

O would to God, so I might have my fee,
My lips were honey, and thy mouth a bee!
Then shouldst thou sucke my sweete and my faire flower,
That now is ripe and full of honey-berries;
Then would I leade thee to my pleasant bower,
Fild full of grapes, of mulberries, and cherries:
Then shouldst thou be my waspe or else my bee,
I would thy hive, and thou my honey, bee.

The poem then becomes a lyric of all the good things that Daphnis has to offer Ganimede in his attempt to get Ganimede to come home with him and live in his sheepcote. He offers him all the beauty that nature has to offer and there are some fine stanzas describing the joys and wonders of the animal and plant life that abounds. He ends by reminding Ganimede that his good looks will be eroded by time, but that Daphnis will still love him. The first part of the poem finishes at this point.

The second part is entitled: 'the second dayes lamentation of the affectionate shepherd'. It would seem that Ganimede has refused Daphnis and he chides him for being cruel and unkind. He then goes on to express his love in more desperate terms. There is a curious sequence where he hones in on Ganimede's long curly hair which he has admired previously, but now he cautions the boy and reminds him that Absolom was killed when his hair caught in a tree. He says that Ganimede's hair is indecent, but he forgives it because love is blind. He the lectures Ganimede on his pride and describes for him the virtues that he should seek to achieve. Their is another curious twist at the end of this section: Daphnis reveals that he is now an old man and that he can say farewell to the love-hating boy

The third part is entitled 'The shepherds content, or the happiness of a harmless life. Written on the occasion of the former subject.' This section portrays the joys of the shepherds life, the simple pleasures and the freedom from worries. Again their is a curious section where three stanzas are inserted in praise of Sir Philip Sidney ending with the hope that his soul sleeps in sweet Elysium. The poem then goes on to further extoll the joys of a shepherds life and all thoughts of the love for Ganimede have been forgotten.

The third section certainly anchors the poem in the pastoral tradition. There follows a sonnet and a complaint, but theses can be quickly passed over. The Affectionate Shepherd is a bit of a find, there is much to delight the modern reader. The verse flows easily and does not lose its musical feel. I suppose one has to bear in mind that it is based on the classical pastoral tradition and so may appear artificial to readers who are not familiar with the genre. I thoroughly enjoyed its freshness and vitality and so 4 stars. ( )