The Pastoral Tradition: Representations of a Golden Age in Shakespeare, Marvell and Behn

MIRIAM MAGRO, School of English, University of Sheffield mmagro1@sheffield.ac.uk The Golden Age is a common theme in the pastoral works of William Shakespeare, Andrew Marvell and Aphra Behn, and refers to a time at the beginning of human history in which people lived ‘in perfect harmony with nature’ and ideal happiness, centred on Arcadia.[1] The association of the Golden Age …