Eclogues (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Virgil
- First Published: 1575
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Principal Characters: Tityrus, Maliboeus, Corydon, Daphnis, Gallus
- Genres: Poetry, Pastoral, Lyric poetry, Eclogue
- Subjects: Exile or expatriates, Poetry or poets, Poverty or poor people, Farms, farmers, or farming, Landlords or tenants, Biblical times, Italy or Italians, Shepherds
Vergil’s ten eclogues made their young author a nationally renowned figure when they were first made public approximately 39 b.c.e. Although these poems do not reach the heights of the Georgics (36-29 b.c.e.) or the Aeneid (30-19 b.c.e.), they are the work of a master, not the hesitant stumblings of an apprentice writer. Vergil made the pastoral form, first popularized by Theocritus, his own and paved the way for many English poets who imitated him, among them Edmund Spenser, Philip Sidney, John Milton, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Matthew Arnold.
Vergil’s pastoral...
[The entire page is 2643 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
