This paper on the
pastoral convention in poetry describes the historical roots of the convention and its development. It
shows that
pastoral poetry is more than a mere
convention and many works pertaining to the convention are of a high literary merit with social, political and personal thoughts evident in the work that can only be truly appreciated if they are examined in detail beyond the face value. The paper uses examples of poems that may be seemingly relatively simple with the themes of the convention have a deeper meaning that depends on the reader's interpretation.