| Summary: | <p>This thesis studies the literary genre of pastoral between 1559 and 1647. The first of these dates is that of a work that changed the course of early modern pastoral, Montemayor’s <em>Diana</em>; and the second marks the English translation of Gomberville’s <em>Polexandre</em>, a pastoral romance which exemplifies the shifts in cultural values that re-shaped Montemayor’s model over the century that followed its publication.</p> <p>My study focusses on the significance for this genre of the ethical quality known to classical moral philosophy as <em>otium</em>, and translated in early modern English by words such as peace, leisure, retirement, ease and idleness. <em>Otium</em> has strong historical associations with the tradition of Virgilian pastoral. Its significance in early modern pastorals, however, has been largely overlooked, despite the fact that early modern interest in <em>otium</em> had been revitalised by the rediscovery of some of its most important classical discussions. This renewed interest in <em>otium</em>, I argue, was essential to the development of early modern pastoral.</p> <p>My argument challenges both old and new critical perspectives on pastoral, and engages with key issues in early modern culture which literary scholars have neglected. Older studies understood pastoral <em>otium</em> simply as idyllic retreat; newer ones accept this view, but argue against its privileged and quietist political implications, preferring to concentrate on the tradition of interpreting pastoral as political allegory. <em>Otium’s</em> principal connotations, however, were neither quiet nor idyllic. Though its restorative qualities were sometimes cautiously acknowledged, <em>otium’s</em> potential to corrupt was ever-present, and affected a range of areas including privacy, politics, moral psychology and medicine. When people wanted to imaginatively explore those effects, I argue, pastoral was the genre to which they were most likely to turn. Listening to what pastorals say about <em>otium</em> can play an important role in reconstructing this crucial and misunderstood aspect of early modern culture.</p>
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