To speak of shepherds and shepherding in a pastoral poem seems almost invariably to be a strategy or a way to speak of poets and their craft of poetry.

在田园诗里描绘牧羊人,看起来是一种固定不变的策略或者方式,用以描述诗人和他们的造诣。

耶鲁公开课 - 弥尔顿课程节选