pastoral

Pastoral refers to a style or genre that presents an idealized view of rural life. The term derives from Latin pastor, shepherd, and originally described works about shepherds and country life. In literature, pastoralism depicts rustic life with shepherds, flocks, and easy natural rhythms, often contrasting the innocence of the countryside with city or court life. The tradition began in classical Greece with Theocritus's Idylls and was developed by Virgil in the Eclogues; it matured in Roman and later European poetry, rebounding in the Renaissance and Romantic periods. Two related modes are bucolic and eclogue; the eclogue is a dialogic form, the idyll emphasizes lyric or narrative scenes.

In the visual arts, pastoral scenes appeared in landscape painting, especially in 17th–18th-century Europe, conveying tranquility and an idealized countryside. In music, "pastoral" denotes pieces that evoke rural landscapes, notably Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, and various works in the Baroque and Romantic periods.

In religion, pastoral refers to the care and guidance given by a pastor or clergy to a congregation, including preaching, counseling, and social support; pastoral care is a central function of many Christian denominations.

In modern usage, pastoral can describe the countryside or rural lifestyle, and also the practice of pastoralism — the herding-based livelihoods of many communities. It can carry rhetorical value, sometimes critiqued as idealized or romanticized representations of rural life, especially in contexts of modern urbanization and environmental change.