Virgil’s first known collection owes a great deal to Theocritus, whose n  Idyllsn are some of my favorite poems of the ancient world. In these these ten poems, Virgil merges realism and pastorale fantasy to celebrate song as a kind of catharsis. Virgil was writing in a world in turmoil, and like all great art that emerges from upheaval, The Eclogues both looks to the past and generates new ways of understanding current events through mythic forms. These are poems of longing, loss, and nostalgia that are rooted in the real-world problems of Romans. Many are poems that focus on exile, like Ovid and Horace (whose land was taken by Octavian), but from the perspective of shepherds with neither the influence, wealth, nor connections to recover from their loss. And so they find solace in their songs, which are the lasting, mythic expressions of their otherwise brief, ordinary lives.

Amor vincit omnia, et nos cedamus amori
- Love conquers all things, so we too shall yield to love.

Carmina vel caelo possunt deducere lunam.
- Songs can even draw the moon down from heaven.

The collection of ten pastoral poems written by Virgil in the dying days of the Late Roman Republic [c. 40-35 BCE] are beautiful, if not (to some extent, admittedly) apocalyptic. Taking Theocritus, the renowned Greek nature-poet, as his almighty inspiration, Virgil constructs an Arcadian scene of shepherd-farmers as they partake in song and praise nature.

Virgil, however, makes the intriguing authorial decision to seat his narrative directly within contemporary Italian realism, bringing to the fore the widespread dispossessions and general upheaval of his own time. In this way, rather than our shepherd-farmers existing separate to, and unfazed by, the trials and tribulations of (predominantly) urban life and the polity at large, they are at the very brunt of it - a wild departure from the Theocritan idyll.

As in Eclogue I, Meliboeus tragically relates to Tityrus (lucky enough to have escaped dispossession): 'nos patriae fines et dulcia linquimus arva' (We are leaving our country's bounds and sweet fields). The Arcadian scene, one of misty-eyed memory of a distant yet fond heritage, is ruptured by the (extra-textual) reality of war and civil strife; the poetic stewards of the land must vacate their ancestral 'patria'. The poem's relation of Virgil's contemporary issues is thereby compelling, illustrating the distinct blot of modern troubles in tandem with the human desire and ability (through, for instance, art and song) to accept, overcome, and persist beyond such obstacles.

This scope of the initially unassuming Eclogues makes it a fascinating read. It is fulfilling to view the fleeting vistas of agricultural life as they come to a curtain-fall whilst, at the same time, wishing upon a greater future to come.

Interesting reworking of Greek myths and exploration of several pastoral themes.

it is ever an honour to read virgil and i thoroughly enjoyed this. i am forever in love with ancient pastoral and it extends to my love of the romantic so evidently the content of this poem was satisfactory. i particularly enjoyed viii and x, but some eclogues felt discordant particularly at the start (…ec3). nonetheless, my favourite poet’s favourite poet never fails to inspire me.

Sprofondare lentamente nella mollezza dei canti, fra le fronde degli alberi, nei boschi.
Ogni cosa è verde, piacevole il sole, soavi le note che si alzano verso le nuvole chiare.
Puoi sentire il sapore del vino che macchia le labbra e dei fiori che profumano come amore semplice e insieme complesso, fuoco alla quale non si può resistere ne rinunciare.

Leggere le “Bucoliche” è come lasciarsi andare, nel vento

Dull.

Agak ngang-ngong bacanya, kudu sambil cari-cari analisis gitu tapi beberapa puisinya beneran menarik banget (dan lucu). Walaupun disebut puisi, aku ngerasanya seisi buku ini malah bisa membentuk cerita karena ada tokoh-tokohnya, ada konteks dan plot tipis-tipis, kalau diperhatiin dari jauh mereka jadi saling terhubung. Paling ngebatin waktu baca Eclogue 4, ternyata dahulu banyak diinterpretasi sebagai puisi prophetic tentang Yesus, yang bikin aku keinget juga sama mitos-mitos Nordik di manuskrip Edda yang dicatat sama orang-orang Kristen abad pertengahan, alhasil isinya nggak pure paganisme lagi tapi disisipi teks-teks agama penulisnya. I find it interesting that a similar thing also happened here with Virgil's work meskipun karya Virgil jelas lebih konkret keasliannya. Dan ternyata Dante adalah salah satu yang percaya interpretasi itu awkwkwkwk. Virgil dipanggil "virtuous pagan" sama dia, very cute headcanon.

Diez poemas bucólicos de Virgilio, su primera gran obra. Se supone que se trata de pastores poetas que cantan sobre cabras, árboles, flores y así, pero no es del todo así. Son poemas escritos desde la ciudad que hablan acerca del campo. Más todavía, el tema central no es campestre, sino erótico, lo dice Virgilio explícitamente en la Décima Bucólica. Es decir, hay cabras, árboles y flores, pero el guía dantesco se la pasa hablando de relaciones pasionales, la mayoría homosexuales, como en la Segunda Bucólica. Otras tantas son mitológicas, como ocurre en la mayor parte del libro, en diálogo con Homero. Hay algo extraordinario en la cuarta. El pasaje del plural al singular en una misma frase -aunque no tengo idea de la versificación original- genera un efecto calculado de violencia. Tremendo recurso estético-político. Más allá de la saturación erudita de estas bucólicas, creo que ahí radica su fuerza, en la música, en los recursos sintácticos que producen efectos semánticos y pragmáticos. Quizás leer traducciones no sirva de mucho.

Enchanting and exquisite! I loved these poems very much!

There is a strange clash of sentiment within me when I imagine Arcadia and the bucolic idyll, having grown up on a farm, and hating every aspect of the labour I was roped into, yet admiring the picture of beauty so thoroughly invoked in Virgil's poetry. Even the gods in their revelry among the nymphs and sheep comfortably coincide with a pastoral image that seems somehow real and true in its idealised formation. There's something melancholy about it all that I can't quite seem to grasp.

The Eclogues is a collection of 10 poems written by the roman poet Virgil, likely composed shortly after Octavian's coronation as Emperor Augustus. The poems mostly revolve around themes of nature, love, and the simplicity of rural life, and is one of the most famous examples of pastoral poetry.

Upon reading them, it became clear where the Portuguese literary movement known as "Arcadismo" got its inspirations from. From the themes to the representation of the region of Arcadia, it draws upon the pastoral poetry common in Greece and Rome. As a result, this movement aligns itself with neoclassicism much more than what I previously thought. I had assumed it was merely a reaction to the industrial revolution and an escape from the increasingly common city life. However, this neoclassical influence now makes me question the motivations behind the ancient pastoral poetry. Given that most people already lived in a rural setting, escapism wasn't a factor. So what, in fact, inspired these poets?

That said, The Eclogues unfortunately did not leave a mark. The language is dense with botanical references, obscure adjectives and archaic allusions that prevent a deeper engagement with the work. Eclogue I avoided said criticism as it was maybe the simplest in setting and content, however this can't be said for the other poems.

In summary, The Eclogues were another miss by Virgil. Despite enlightening the influences behind the aforementioned literary movement, the convoluted language prevented me from engaging with the work.

These are rich poems about the pastoral life. Virgil's shepherds recline in lush countryside at the foot of the Alps and pass the time in song contests, storytelling, and lovemaking. It's escapist, yes, but Virgil also weaves in a recurring but subtle melancholy theme of displacement - explicit in the first and ninth poems and allegorized as love in the eighth - that mirrors his own near-ejection from Mantua after the final Roman civil war. They're not light reading, either. Each is short yet dense with allusions, metaphors, and indirect exposition. Plenty to think on and work the mind.