ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Pastoral Poem Definition. Pastoral poems idealize rural life and the countryside. Despite writing about rural life, pastoral poets were usually not from the countryside. Instead, urban poets used pastoral poetry to portray rural life as a fantasy, a society of shepherds who were free from the complexities of city life.

Detailed explanation-2: -A pastoral poem explores the fantasy of withdrawing from modern life to live in an idyllic rural setting. All pastoral poetry draws on the tradition of the ancient Greek poet Theocritus, who wrote romanticized visions of shepherds living rich and fulfilled lives.

Detailed explanation-3: -eclogue, a short pastoral poem, usually in dialogue, on the subject of rural life and the society of shepherds, depicting rural life as free from the complexity and corruption of more civilized life.

Detailed explanation-4: -The pastoral elegy is a poem about both death and idyllic rural life. Often, the pastoral elegy features shepherds.

Detailed explanation-5: -Pastoral is a way of writing about life in the countryside that emphasizes the gentle, leisurely, and often pleasurable aspects of that life. Not all writing about a rural life or about the natural world is or can be pastoral.