Abstract
The memory of a lost earthly paradise remains with fallen man, who seeks to regain Eden at least in part even in this world. This instinctive longing is perhaps the basis for that vast body of literature termed "pastoral." |Many elements, it is true, enter into pastoralism. The idea of a "golden age" is, however, consistently present in the pastoral, even if found in other forms. |Shakespeare, profound and reverent searcher of the human heart, sympathetic portrayer of man's spiritual struggles, yet withal true child of the Elizabethan age, would inevitably have shown this longing of mankind in some type of pastoralism.