SOURCE: Hogan, Robert and Edward A. Nickerson. Introduction to The Faithful Shepherd: A Translation of Battista Guarini's Il Pastor Fido by Dr. Thomas Sheridan, edited by Robert Hogan and Edward A. Nickerson, pp. 9-15. Newark, N.J.: University of Delaware Press, 1989.

In the following essay, Hogan and Nickerson introduce a modern translation of Guarini's Il pastor fido, placing it in historical context. They also compare it favorably to Tasso's pastoral play Aminta for its dramatic quality, though they deem its poetic quality to be inferior.

Il Pastor Fido is the most notable work of Battista Guarini, who was born in Ferrara on 10 December 1538, and died in Venice on 7 October 1612. Very reminiscent of Tasso's slightly earlier and much shorter pastoral play Aminta, Guarini's famous work circulated widely in manuscript before being published in 1590 and then produced in 1595. Because of its great length, it has never been frequently produced, but...