Finally a Renaissance long poem I can get behind. Arcadia is written in a fancy, yet still highly-accessible style that does not detract the readers from tasting the heavenly spirit of pastoral poetry.
Although the poem lacks a consistent plotline, its suggestive and dream-like imagery which is masterfully conveyed through both verse and prose fully succeeds in crafting a rapturous bucolic atmosphere that compensates for all its shortcomings. Sannazaro's work is the true spiritual successor to the poetry of Theocritus, a long episodic pastoral poem consisting of exquisite sections of pure, undiluted idyllic visions, surprisingly unsullied by judeo-christian influences and distinctly reminiscent of the motifs and tropes of the ancient Roman and Greek poetry. Pity that it is virtually obscure outside my country. ( )