This article considers the dedicatory prefaces that frame Ronsard's and Garcilaso's pastoral works as an articulation of these poets' divergent political and lyrical visions of bucolic poetry. While there is often a tendency to overlook prefatory matter as somehow extraneous to the text, this article argues that Ronsard's 'À treshaut et tresvertueux Prince François de France, Duc d'Anjou, fils et frere de Roy' and Garcilaso's dedications in the 'Égloga primera' and 'Égloga tercera' are essential documents in understanding these poets' use of pastoral.