Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-179) and index
Preliminaries; CONTENTS; SERIES EDITOR'S PREFACE; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; 1 Three kinds of pastoral; 2 Constructions of arcadia; 3 The discourse of retreat; 4 The cultural contexts of return; 5 The anti pastoral tradition; 6 Post pastoral; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX.
A succinct and up-to-date introductory text to the history, major writers and critical issues of this genre. Gifford clarifies the different uses of the term covering its history from classical origins through to contemporary writing