Pastoral Poetry
poetry which deals, in a more or less direct form, with rustic life. It has generally flourished in highly corrupted artificial states of society. Thus Theocritus, the first pastoral poet, made artistic protest against the licentiousness of Syracuse; and Vergil wrote his "Bucolics" and "Eclogues" in the corrupt Roman court. In the 16th century pastoral poetry received notable expression in "Arcadia" of G. Sannazaro, the "Aminta" of Tasso, and the "Pastor Fido" of Guarini; and in England, in the "Shepherd's Calendar" of Spenser, the "Arcadia" of Sidney, the "Faithful Shepherdess" of Fletcher, "As You Like It" of Shakespeare and the "Comus" of Milton. The "Gentle Shepherd" of Allan Ramsay (1725) was the last successful dramatic pastoral.