Genres
Pastoral
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A genre depicting an idealised version of rural and shepherd life, herding livestock across open land through the changing seasons, often set against the corruption or complexity of city or court life.
Facts
Place of OriginAncient Greece, in the Idylls of the Hellenistic poet Theocritus; adapted into Latin by the Roman poet Virgil in his highly influential Eclogues. 1 Notable ExampleChristopher Marlowe's The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (1588). 1 Defining TraitAn idealized, not realistic, portrayal of rural life and shepherds, conventionally contrasted with courtly or urban corruption. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Theocritus, Authors Theocritus is the pastoral genre's founding poet; the genre's own origin-place fact already names him.
Virgil, Authors Virgil adapted pastoral into Latin with his Eclogues, highly influential on the genre's later European tradition; the genre's own origin-place fact already names him.
Features Author
Idylls already in-genre Pastoral; Theocritus himself carried no in-genre edge to it.
Sources
1. Pastoral (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead section
The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle, herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture.
1. Pastoral (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationbodyQuote, body
Pastoral literature continued after Hesiod with the poetry of the Hellenistic Greek Theocritus, several of whose Idylls are set in the countryside. The Roman poet Virgil adapted pastoral into Latin with his highly influential Eclogues.
1. Pastoral (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPastoral poetry sectionQuote, Pastoral poetry section
Christopher Marlowe's The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (1588) exhibits the concept of Gifford's second definition of pastoral.
Theocritus (Wikipedia)
Theocritus (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Idylls, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Idylls, Lead section
the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry
Theocritus (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Theocritus, Lead section, pastoral poetry originQuote, Features Author: Theocritus, Lead section, pastoral poetry origin
Theocritus was a Greek poet from Sicily, Magna Graecia, and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry.
Theocritus (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Theocritus, Opening paragraph, creator of pastoral poetryQuote, Features Author: Theocritus, Opening paragraph, creator of pastoral poetry
was a Greek poet from Sicily, Magna Graecia, and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry.
Virgil (Wikipedia)
The Faithful Shepherdess (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Faithful Shepherdess, Lead section, pastoral genreQuote, Features Author: The Faithful Shepherdess, Lead section, pastoral genre
A Jacobean-era pastoral tragicomedy by John Fletcher, most likely first performed around 1608, that inaugurated Fletcher's playwriting career.
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