Pastoral poetry is a literary work dealing with the lives of shepherds or rural life in general and typically drawing a contrast between the innocence and serenity of a simple life and the misery and corruption of city and especially court life

Definition

The characters in pastoral poetry are often used as vehicles for the expression of the author's moral, social, or literary views. Sometimes uses the device of "singing matches" between two or more shepherds. Themes often include love and death.

History of pastoral poetry

The devices of pastoral poetry were largely established by Theocritus. The tradition was passed from Greece to Rome, where Virgil alluded to contemporary problems in the rustic society he portrayed. Virgil's Eclogues had a powerful effect on poets of the Renaissance. Theocritus (Greek Θεόκριτος), the creator of Ancient Greek bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC. Little is known of him beyond what can be inferred from his writings. ... A sculpture of Virgil, probably from the 1st century AD. For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ...

In English poetry the appearance in 1579 of Edmund Spenser's Shepheardes Calendar brought about a trend towards the pastoral mode.

Pastoral poets

• Sir Philip Sidney, Robert Greene, Thomas Nashe, Christopher Marlowe, Michael Drayton, Thomas Dekker, John Donne, Sir Walter Raleigh, Robert Herrick, Andrew Marvell, Thomas Heywood, Thomas Campion, William Browne, William Drummond, and Phineas Fletcher all wrote pastoral poetry.

Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (November 30, 1554 - October 17, 1586) became one of the Elizabethan Ages most prominent figures. ... Robert Greene, BA, MA, (1558 – September 3, 1592) was an English playwright, poet, pamphleteer, and prose writer. ... Thomas Nashe (November 1567–1600?) was an English Elizabethan pamphleteer, poet and satirist. ... An anonymous portrait, often believed to show Christopher Marlowe. ... Michael Drayton (1563- December 23, 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. ... Thomas Dekker, (c. ... John Donne John Donne (pronounced Dun; 1572 – March 31, 1631) was a Jacobean poet and preacher, the representative of the so-called metaphysical poets of the period, though the term itself came after his death. ... Alternatively, Professor Walter Raleigh was a scholar and author circa 1900. ... Robert Herrick is the name of two major literary figures: Robert Herrick (poet) (1591-1674) Robert Herrick (novelist) (1868-1938) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Andrew Marvell (March 31, 1621 – August 16, 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, and the son of an Anglican clergyman. ... Thomas Heywood (died approx. ... Thomas Campion, sometimes Campian (February 12, 1567 – March 1, 1620) was an English composer, poet and physician. ... William Browne (1590?‑1645?) was an English poet, born at Tavistock, educated at Oxford, after which he entered the Inner Temple. ... This page is about William Drummond (d. ... Phineas Fletcher (1582-1650) was an English poet, elder son of Dr Giles Fletcher, and brother of Giles the younger. ...

Decline

In later centuries, a reaction against the artificialities of the genre, combinded with new attitudes to the natural man and the natural scene, resulted in a sometimes bitter injection of reality into the rustic scenes of many poets and novelist.

However, the pastoral elegy survives through Percy Shelley and Mathew Arnold. Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 - July 8, 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. ...