Pastoral Poetry The Genre from pastor Latin for
- Slides: 9
Pastoral Poetry
The Genre �from pastor, Latin for "shepherd” � refers to a literary work dealing with shepherds and rustic life. �The English pastoral is an imitation of the Greek and Latin literary tradition.
The Genre �This poetry presents an idealized rather than realistic view of rustic life. �It’s about the pleasures and simplicity of the country, not the everyday realities of life outside the city and court.
The Genre The pastoral mode is used to address specific topics: �love and seduction �the value of poetry �death and mourning (the elegy or eulogy) �the corruption of the city and/or court vs. the purity of country life �a satire of politics
A Conversation Between two shepherds (called an eclogue). may discuss: �the shepherds’ flocks �current events �a lady �the death of a friend �or debate which shepherd is the better poet
A Conversation Between a shepherd and the shepherdess he loves �generally an attempt to seduce her �may contain the shepherdess’s response, but it doesn’t have to
A Conversation A single shepherd may also speak in a monologue This monologue may: �praise an individual �mourn a death �court a lady �or complain about being lovesick
The Sonnet Cycle Definition: A collection of sonnets in the pastoral mode. �These are typically Spenserian sonnets but there are some variations �They fit in with a tradition of poetry in which the poet dissects the nature of love and seeks to represent it in all its pain and glory �
The Spenserian Sonnet �each sonnet has three quatrains (a group of four lines) and a couplet (a rhymed pair of lines) �written in rhymed iambic pentameter �A typical Spenserian sonnet will rhyme: abab bcbc cdcd ee. �“Astrophil and Stella” uses several different acceptable rhyme schemes