ABSTRACT
Iftherewasasingleliterarygenrethatgaveidealexpressiontotheselfunderstandingofthenobilitasliterariaasitwasorganizedinintellectualsocieties throughoutEurope,thenitwassurelypastoral.Itisimpossibletoseparatethe socialandpoliticalinfluenceemanatingfromthesocietiesfromtheinfluenceof pastoralpoetryasgenreuponthesocieties.Thisreciprocity,asweshallsee,owed abovealltotheutopianstraininherentinboththephilosophicalbaseofthe societies(egalitarian,meritocratic,'trulynoble')andtheformalelementsofthe genreashandeddownfromVergil. 1
Itiscuriousthen,thatpastoralhasneverbeenseriouslyinvestigatedasan independenttypeofutopianliterature.2Afterhavingenjoyedpopularityforsome 2,000years,pastoralcommencedtodeclinearoundthemiddleoftheeighteenth century.Itwasaboutthistimethatadistinctlymiddle-classaestheticarosein oppositiontotworelatedtraditions,oneliterary,theothersocial.The practitionersofthisaestheticsrejectedtheclassical,ornormative,conceptionof genre;theiroppositionowedinparttotheassociationofcertainkindsofwriting, amongthempastoral,withthedominantcourtlyculture.Thisanti-classical,anticourtlyattitudeinitiallyfueledacertainprogressivistthinkinginboththeliterary andpoliticalspheres,andinthispre-revolutionaryphase,3pastoralreceivedfresh inspirationfromthenewaesthetictendency.
