Key words: Arcadia, Arcadian experience, Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh, English novel, classical tradition, et in Arcadia ego  

As the frontispiece of Book One of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, the phrase ‘Et in Arcadia ego’ announces  the author’s intention of making the classical Arcadian theme a key reference in a text that speaks of nostalgia for a joyful past in times marked by sadness and pain. However, an interpretation may be approached from several directions even within the classical tradition. Thus, without ignoring philological or artistic aspects of the topic, this article focuses on a close study of the author’s most original message: the notion that a youthful Arcadian experience confers on young men and women a ‘residue of happiness’ able to sustain their future development and assist them in dealing with the challenges of personal tragedy.