In this ambitious two-volume history H. seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the development and significance of the myth of Arcadia across European art and literature. In the introduction H. establishes that this work has been designed ‘more as a journey than as a map’ (I, p. x). He does not offer any revolutionary conclusions, presenting instead an enjoyable amble through pastoral history, supported with personal observations. These two volumes provide the most meticulously researched exploration of Arcadia and the pastoral genre yet, embracing significantly more, in both scope and depth of analysis, than other comparative works such as P. Alpers's What is Pastoral? (1997) and A. Ruff's Arcadian Visions (2015). H.'s study is rigorously thorough but composed with such a deep, personal appreciation of the subject matter that it avoids becoming dry or monotonous; an impressive feat given that it spans almost a thousand pages.
Of the 20 chapters comprising these volumes, the majority focus on Renaissance receptions of pastoral ideology, leaning predominantly towards Italian and French works, although H. also acknowledges the significant contributions of German and Dutch influences on the genre. Though it is unclear exactly what H. defines as Arcadian, as opposed to pastoral – he even writes in his introduction that ‘most pastoral does not actually take place in Arcadia’ (I, p. x) –, he sets clear limits to the scope of his task, which could otherwise be boundless. Each chapter is designed to stand alone as a concentrated analysis of one feature of the Arcadian tradition; of course, the full purview of the undertaking is most evident when read cover-to-cover, as only in this way can the true depth of the study be appreciated. This review will focus on a selection of the chapters, to give an overview of the range of themes that H. addresses.
Particularly noteworthy is H.'s inclusion of his own translations throughout the two volumes. The translations are all beautifully rendered and add a lyrical flow that binds the chapters together, so that a work that spans many different time periods and cultures, and could be somewhat disparate, achieves tonal coherence throughout. H. intersperses the text with lengthy poetic extracts, given in the original language with facing English translation, which serve to clarify the focuses of the chapters; his translation of Petrarch's Canzoniere no. 126 (I, pp. 76–9) is particularly elegant. The layout of each chapter is carefully considered, so that it is possible to trace a clear line of thought throughout each section.
Chapter 1, on the origins of Arcadia, is especially detailed, examining the generic foundations established by Virgil's Eclogues. H.'s commentary-style discussion works through each of the ten poems chronologically (as per the order of Virgil's collection), giving a broad overview of significant existing scholarship. He saves his personal conclusions for the footnotes, where he provides an impassioned evaluation of what he views as common misconceptions, such as reading Arcadia as the setting of the Eclogues, which he refers to as ‘a considerable distortion’ (I, p. 15), and the ubiquitous misuse of the locus amoenus term, which he develops further in later chapters. H.'s choice of the words ‘panchronic’ and ‘metachronic’ is particularly useful in elucidating the complex time register of the Eclogues, as he encapsulates the ability of Virgil's pastoral poetry to be both historical and mythological whilst also existing as an allegorical reflection of contemporary events.
It is in his discussion of Renaissance pastorals, which takes up most of Volume 1, that H.'s writing is most lively and enjoyable. His assertion in Chapter 3 that the pastoral genre has been (and, perhaps, should be) concerned primarily with ‘questione della lingua’ (I, p. 132), instead of the assumed focus on landscape and the joys of country living, is persuasive. In this chapter H. addresses what he refers to as the ‘polyglot and polymorphous consistency’ of pastoral poetry. This chapter certainly lends credence to the view of R. Jenkyns (JRS 79 [1989]), amongst others, that Arcadia is a Renaissance invention, as H. is keen to centralise the influence of Jacopo Sannazaro, particularly, in the rapid expansion of Arcadian ideology throughout Europe. He also makes a strong case for the inclusion of Petrarch into the pastoral canon, as a crucial intertext between Virgil and the Renaissance pastoralists.
The switch to image-based discussion in Chapters 4 and 5 is welcome; H.'s use of images is precise and well-explained and guides readers clearly through the chapters. The extensive focus on woodhouses and wildmen in German art in Chapter 4 is especially compelling, and the accompanying images are delightful, offering an often-overlooked stage in the development of the pastoral genre. His thoughts regarding the moralising use of erotic pastoral images in Chapter 5 are also striking – particularly his observation that ‘[s]ensual sin is represented not as hateful but as a disappointment’ (I, p. 178). He develops this discussion of pastoral eroticism across Chapters 7, 8 and 9, providing an impressive cross-examination of the differing forms of romantic and erotic pastoral subjects.
Where Volume 1 adheres relatively closely to classical and then Renaissance sources, Volume 2 ranges more broadly, and the chapters correspond less obviously to one another. This is not necessarily detrimental; indeed, this approach effectively depicts the broadening of the pastoral focus from the sixteenth century onwards. Chapter 13, for instance, on ‘The Englishness of English Pastoral’, develops a thought-provoking line of inquiry into the nationalistic appropriation of Arcadia in England. This is one area where H. is less thorough in his analysis, as much more could be said here of the parallel development of Arcady in English literature – a term used sparingly and seemingly interchangeably with Arcadia.
Chapters 15 and 16 of Volume 2 pair nicely with Chapter 6 in Volume 1, developing further the relationship between Arcadia, pastoral and landscape. H. dedicates much of Chapter 16 to a comprehensive examination of the et in Arcadia ego legend, which he describes as ‘a motto intrinsic to an image’ (II, p. 238), providing an extensive array of accompanying images, which are all reprinted in beautiful quality. Particularly engaging is his inclusion of the works of Bourdon and Benedetto Castiglione, which were clearly heavily influenced by the more well-known Arcadian paintings by Guercino and Poussin. In this chapter H. illustrates the various ends to which Arcadia has been appropriated by artists across Europe; in Chapter 1, he refers to the ‘elasticity’ of pastoral (the term attributed to L.G. Clubb [1992]), and this elasticity is most apparent in this survey of Arcadian art.
In the final chapter of Volume 2 H. gives his own thoughts on the ever-fluctuating function of Arcadia, illustrating the myriad ways in which the symbolic value of Arcadia continues to be mined in the fields, particularly, of love, language and landscape, ‘to embrace a variety of subjects, subsuming them into the terms of its genre’ (II, p. 439). As this immense work has shown, ‘the pastoral legacy is always revivable and reinterpretable’ (II, p. 439): this is the message with which H. concludes, with an image of Arcadia as just as nebulous and mutable today as it was for Virgil.
The subtitle H. has chosen for these volumes – fortunato in terra – epitomises what seems to be the main purpose of the work, which is to capture the complex emotional nuances of Arcadia. Throughout the two books H. maintains a permanent focus on the pervasive joyfulness, or perhaps optimism, that seeps into all these Arcadias. Even when Arcadia is a place of death or loss, he has shown that there is always a lingering sense of hopeful reflection or commemoration. H.'s work thus stands as a thoroughly enjoyable, visually stunning addition to the study of Arcadia and pastoral themes.
