Harvard Studies in Classical Philology · 1999 · 14 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesLiteratureEnglish LiteraturePoetryTextual CriticismNarrative CriticismPoeticsAlexandrian AestheticsAlexandrian TextReception Of VirgilVirgilian EclogueVirgilian Epic
T is well known that Virgilian Eclogues tend to begin programmatically: flocks, herds, rustics, trees, woods, country musical instruments, and amoebean song underline their bucolic nature; literary keywords and allusions acknowledge their Alexandrian aspirations; and re-uses of Theocritean incipits and characters, along with references to Sicily, proclaim Virgil's indebtedness to his chief predecessor. Some such programmatic features are instantly recognisable in the first distich of the book: