Here's why:
* Pastoral poetry often idealizes rural life, focusing on the beauty of nature and the simplicity of shepherds and their lives.
* Personification gives human qualities to non-human things, like animals, plants, or even the elements. This helps to create a sense of connection between the human world and the natural world, which is essential to the pastoral genre.
Here are some examples of personification in pastoral poetry:
* "The sun smiles down on the fields."
* "The wind whispers secrets to the trees."
* "The flowers dance in the breeze."
While other literary devices might also be used in pastoral poetry, personification is particularly well-suited to the genre's themes and imagery.