Pastoral Romances and Novels

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Gerhart Hoffmeister (University of California, Santa Barbara)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. WORLD HISTORY AND IDEAS: A CROSS-CULTURAL VOLUME.

Dates

Date of occurrence 200-1754

Places

Ancient Greece (Location)
Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Location)
France (Location)
Germany (Location)
Spain (Location)
United Kingdom (Location)

Genres and Modes

Novel
Pastoral
Romance

Resources

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Recommended Reading

As a rule, the pastoral novel (German

Schäferroman

, Spanish

novela pastoril

) emerged after bucolic lyrics, epic poems, and dramas had already been composed. This type of novel has its roots in antiquity and experienced a revival in the entire European Renaissance and Baroque. Although much maligned since the Enlightenment, pastoral novels often provide significant insights into the development of literature and poetic diction as well as important glimpses of societal mores and conflicts.

The ancient model: Longus' Daphnis and Chloe

The ancient model: Longus'

Daphnis and Chloe

When Longus inaugurated the bucolic novel (ca. 200 A. D.), he could draw on a thousand years of Greek masterpieces: epic poems (Homer, The Odyssey, ninth century), prose novels (e.g., about Alexander, second

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2921 words

Citation: Hoffmeister, Gerhart. "Pastoral Romances and Novels". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 June 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5997, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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