A pastoral poem is one that glamorizes and idealizes country life. It speaks of a yearning to get back to that simple life, and that it is somehow more godly and superior than any other. It is often couched in religious allegory.

With this poem I decided to hit the major beats of a pastoral poem but reflect the reality of "country" life for someone like Stede, who owned slaves. His father owned slaves and he owned slaves, and I thought it would be interesting to watch the reality of that start to creep into his mind the more time he spends with his crew and realize that his history being "on top" of everyone necessarily meant that there were people at "the bottom," the kind of people he is growing to like and admire a lot. Does Stede making himself captain of a ship put him in a similar position of power? Is he continuing the same practices from his previous life as a plantation owner? That's ultimately for him to decide and express through how he sees and treats others going forward.