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Two of the dominant motives in pastoral literature are the “come-live-with-me” theme, which offers to the loved one as inducements gifts generally of a pastoral nature, and the ideal of the “golden age,” which is based upon a personal desire for a patterned idyllic life. The former has been carefully traced by R. S. Forsythe, but the latter has lain neglected in spite of the fact that two of the best known lyrics in the language, Milton's L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, utilize this theme. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate that the description of the ideal day is a significant and deeply rooted theme which developed gradually during the whole course of the pastoral tradition. Milton's two days derive from this evolution rather than from a few scattered lyrics which immediately preceded his work, as is generally stated.

The revised Arcadia has long been recognized as a great treasure-house of sixteenth-century references. Scholars have unearthed from incidental and episodical passages many significant bits of political and social background. Like a mosaic, these pieces are gradually fitted together to complete the work; so that each fragment, no matter how small, fits into its place. Among the scholars eminent in this field are Friedrich Brie, who recognized the importance of knowledge of Elizabethan life generally to an understanding of the Arcadia; Emma Denkinger, who has investigated the impresa and emblems of Sidney's in connection with sixteenth-century literature and practice; and Edwin Greenlaw, who has revealed much political and autobiographical significance. Indeed, so great is the contemporaneity of the Arcadia that it is this aspect of the book which has a special interest, and Sidney himself may have derived greater pleasure in writing the so-called extraneous matter than in untangling his romance or in depicting characters.