| "The Earthly Paradise in the Pastoral Poetry of Garcilaso de la Vega" identifies the Earthly Paradise as one of the major themes in Garcilaso de la Vega's pastoral poetry. In order to do this, the present study traces pertinent theoretical perspectives on the pastoral and finds the interrelations between these perspectives and the nature and meaning of the earthly paradise.;If the text can be located historically in the sixteenth century, however, the direction in which the text is moving is found to transgress the boundaries of Renaissance thought. The study defines the ways in which the text moves away from Renaissance thought, presenting Renaissance ideals from a more inclusive perspective.;Since the earthly paradise is found in both secular and spiritual writings, the present study draws comparisons between the Earthly Paradise of the West and the World Navel of Eastern mythology. The reality of the text, then, transcends the conventional boundaries established with respect to Renaissance pastoral, revealing a world in which the ultimate goal is a return to the Earthly Paradise.;As a point of departure, the study employs recent theoretical perspectives on the pastoral to locate the pastoral of Garcilaso de la Vega with respect to its precursors and contemporaneous texts. |
