Eclogues
by Virgil · Bucolica
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 39 BCE
- Form
- Lyric poetry
- Language
- Latin
- Length
- Short · 60 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Eclogues and Georgics, translated by C. Day LewisOxford World's Classics, 2009Day Lewis's verse versions, used by the Great Books set, with an introduction by R. O. A. M. Lyne.
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Ten short pastoral poems modelled on Theocritus, Virgil's first published work. Shepherds sing of love, hold contests, mourn the dead Daphnis and lose their farms to veterans of the civil wars. The fourth Eclogue foretells a child whose birth will bring back a golden age, later read by Christians as a prophecy of Christ; the tenth consoles the poet Gallus for a lost lover. The songs mix Arcadian landscape with the politics of Rome after Caesar's assassination.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Eclogues are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
