The Greek author Theocritus (ca. 310-ca. 245 BC) is credited with being the first and greatest pastoral poet. He expressed great delight in nature and rural life.The best source for the biography of T...
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Theocritus's importance to literary history lies in his invention of the pastoral genre. Although other Hellenistic poets wrote on rustic themes, Virgil sealed Theocritus's claim to be the first pasto...
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In the following essay, Lang discusses the legend of Theocritus, the influence Sicily and its shepherds had upon his poetry, and the characteristics of art during the age in which he wrote.
At the ...
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In the following excerpt, Hubbard focuses on the stylistic qualities that made Theocritus so influential on his successors.
The quest for a pre-Theocritean form of bucolic poetry has proven unprodu...
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In the following excerpt, Kerlin discusses the scope and importance of Theocritus's work, its characteristics, and its influence on English literature.
1. Nature and Scope of the Work
It wil...
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In the following excerpt, Gow examines the history of bucolic poetry, summarizes the life of Theocritus, and discusses his use of dialects.
(i.) Greek Bucolic Poetry
In a lost treatise on the inven...
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In the following essay, Beachcroft considers the impact that the “XV Idyll” (known as the “Adoniazusae”) had on Katherine Mansfield's short stories.
That Katherin...
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In the following excerpt, Walker examines Theocritus's use of the herdsman-poet figure, his mixing of genres, his relationship to his contemporaries, and his influence and reputation.
Theocr...
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In the following excerpt, Halperin explores Theocritus's use of pastoral poetry and discusses to what extent it is correct to credit him with originality in working within the bucolic tradition...
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In the following essay, Walsh studies “Idyll 1” and “Idyll 7” for what they reveal about Theocritus's attempts to portray certain aspects of character.
As soon as...
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In the following essay, Vara deduces that although Theocritus did not gather the pastoral details of the Idylls from real life, but from the writings of others, he can nethertheless properly be called...
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In the following excerpt, Burton examines how Theocritus portrayed changing gender roles, the rise of feminine power, and gender ambiguity in his poems.
The ascendancy of autocratic hegemonies, the...
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Theocritus
Theocritus
Critical Essay by A. Lang
