Pastoral Literature
Pastoral literature often refers to rural subjects and aspects of life in the country such as being a shepherd or cowherd, or other farm worker. Such jobs are often highly idealized and unrealistically depicted in such literature.
Pastoral shepherds and maidens usually have Greek names; pastoral poems are set in beautiful rural landscapes such as Arcadia, a rural region of Greece and mythical home to Pan. Their job is often written as being undemanding and is often left in the background of pastoral writing. The Shepherds spend their time chasing beautiful women or pretty young lads.
Pastoral poetry began with the poetry of the Hellenistic Greek Theocritus, several of whose poems are set in the countryside. The may have drawn upon authentic folk traditions of Sicilian shepherds. His blend of simplicity and sophistication would play a major role in later pastoral verse.
The Roman poet Virgil adopted the genre and put it into Latin in his highly influential Eclogues. Virgil presented a more idealized view of rural life than Theocritus and was the first to set his poems in Arcadia. Italian poets revived the pastoral from the 14th century onwards, first in Latin and then in Italian. The first English pastoral poems were the Eclogues by Alexander Barclay, circa 1515.