Pastoral

A pastoral is defined as a literary composition on a rural theme. The convention originated with classical Greek poet Theocritus during the third century B.C. In a pastoral, the characters are shepherds who speak in a courtly manner despite their simple setting. Like the poetry Theocritus, Vergil's Eclogues are about the experiences, love affairs, and pastimes of shepherds. Of the ten poems, a few are tragic love stories, a few involve singing contests, and the rest (the majority) recall the seizure of the shepherds' lands by retired Roman soldiers.

Tragedy

The tragic form was practiced extensively by the Greeks. It is usually a drama in prose or poetry involving a noble, courageous hero who, due to a character flaw, brings ruin upon himself or herself. In Racine's tragedy Andromaque, all of the characters seem to fall prey to one fatal flaw, that of passion. It is Pyrrhus's...