(artist V. Bouguereau )
Idyll ( Latin idyllium from other Greek εἰδύλλιον - “small image”, “picture”, diminutive of είδος - “view”, “picture”) - originally (in ancient Rome ) a small poem on the subject of rural life. Later in Byzantium, the word εἰδύλλιον was used by the scholastics , who interpreted certain places from the writings of Theocritus .
In the historical and literary sense, the meaning of the term “idyll” largely intersects with “ pastoral ” and “ bukoliki ”; the difference is manifested in the fact that “idyll” refers to a separate poetic work of the pastoral genre, not limited to the biography of only shepherd’s life. In modern times, this narrow meaning has been blurred, and the idyll is often called works on the peaceful life of a couple in love ( Gogol's " Old World Landowners "), or even on a peaceful patriarchal life in general, not necessarily rural.
Antiquity
The idyll in ancient Greece is usually associated with the names of the poets Theocritus (III century BC), Mosch (III century BC), Bion (II century BC)
Literature
- Popova T.V. Bukolika with the system of Greek poetry // Poetics of ancient Greek literature. M., 1981.
- Cheskhikhin V.E. Idyll // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.