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
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 century B.C.; erotic novels), comedies and tragedies as well as Theocritus' foundation of pastoral poetry (Idylls, third century B.C.). Theocritus had assembled...
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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 09 June 2026.]
