Analyzes the transformation of German-language pastoral from a portrayal of the idyllic lives of herdsmen into a vehicle for the concerns and aspirations of the middle class.

Introduction: Pastoral as a Way of Not Looking at the Country
Pastoral in the Enlightenment: Salomon Gessner's Idylls
"Wo giebts dann Schäfer wie diese?": Friedrich "Maler" Müller's Idylls of Cultural Renewal
Johann Heinrich Voss's Experiments with an Enlightened Idyll
Goethe and Schiller's Engagements with Pastoral: Facing the Post-Revolutionary World
Heinrich von Kleist: The Promises and Illusions of Pastoral
Pastoral in the Age of Capital: Eduard Mörike and Johann Nestroy
Conclusion