The pastoral tradition is a deeply rooted genre in poetry that focuses on rural life and landscapes, often depicting this subject in a positive or even idealized light. Pastoral works may implicitly or explicitly contrast rural settings and lifestyles with urbanity and often focus specifically on shepherds. This tradition can be traced back to ancient Greek poetry, and was particularly prominent in the seventeenth century, but became less popular following the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth-century Europe. This genre is also often connected to romantic topics; for example, a sub-genre of pastoral poetry focuses on the love lives and desires of shepherds. Another sub-genre, the pastoral elegy, focuses on the poet’s grief over the loss of a friend or loved one. Prominent seventeenth-century poets and writers, such as John Milton and William Shakespeare, worked in this genre.
Billy Collins’ poem “Afternoon with Irish Cows” could be deemed a modern example of pastoral poetry. Collins celebrates the mystery and beauty of rural life by reflecting on the cows and their demeanor as well as paying careful attention to the surrounding landscape. The speaker becomes intrigued by the cows and stops his more modern tasks (reading a newspaper or cutting an apple) to investigate them. The cows are deeply connected to their surrounding environment, which is painted as a peaceful and idyllic place. The speaker, although not identified as a shepherd, also fits into the mold of an observer and speaker in pastoral poetry, who typically achieves insight and growth through their interactions with nature. While Collins' poem is certainly contemporary, it is also the continuation of a long theme in literature that focuses on pastoral scenes, such as these cows in an Irish field.
