song and society

Question 1

isolation in virgil’s eclogues

Answer 1

‘cadunt altis de montibus umbrae’ in 1.84 ‘the shadow of the tall mountains falling’

boundary between the poetic landscape and the influence of rome - literally in the shadow of both recent history (land confiscation etc) and the intrusion of the city which lies beyond, where Meliboeus is driven by circumstance (1.3)

the introduction of the landscapes boundaries is delayed, here so Meliboeus may position the pastoral life in opposition, makes the city alternative, not the rural

Question 2

imagery of enclosure and entrapment in virgil’s Eclogues

Answer 2

Tityus is ‘tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fagi silvestrem’ in the opening - physically enclosed and confined by the beech tree

Question 3

water and entrapment in Virgil’s Eclogues

Answer 3

Book 8 - reference to the Trimavus River - encroachment of real geography upon the pastoral poetic world

Trimavus - said to be the source of the Adriatic sea - ability to move via the river into the world beyond

Idea of Homer (the river) as the source from which all literature (the sea) flows - river as a poetic avenue of exchange between the secluded poetic/artistic community and the city beyond

Is it unsustainable even in this pastoral genre to exclude elements of reality - how can you write of the herdsman without land confiscation? Virgil alludes to real people like Pollio

Question 4

manipulation of genre in Virgil’s Eclogues

Answer 4

it is an expected element of inspired song to use the verb for remembering rather than inventing song. here that takes on a new significance. the herdsmen ‘remembering’ songs rather than giving extemporaneous performances contributes further to the sense of nostalgia - they are confined by the fact they can only reach backwards - almost kills the protagonist of book 10

Tityrus utilises his reed ‘avena’ for music rather than writing

the shift from duologue to monologue, happens through out but concludes with monologue - alienates the herdsmen in a sense because they are always depicted in dialogue/competition BUT in the 10th book, the poetic ego gives over his voice to the story of the protagonist, giving his voice to a friend without personal gain - evolution of the genre where their reliance of eachother unifies them into one voice

Question 6

the loss of song in writing in Virgil’s Eclogues

Answer 6

9.21 Lycidas secretly overhears Menalcas’ poem ‘vel quae subjegi tacitus tibi carmina nuper’ - rather than hearing it in a face to face exchange - perversion of oral tradition, it is edited and corrupted by being retold to us by someone else

‘tacitus’ at 9.37 description of song being performed, framed by silence which is lost on the page

Tityrus utilising the reed pipe for song, can also be fashioned into a writing implement - ceremonial handing over of this later in the poem shows the passage of tradition over time from hand to hand, also sits beneath a beech tree which can be written on

Question 7

immortality at the end of a genre in Virgil’s Eclogues

Answer 7

The monument to Daphnis carved with ‘et in arcadia ego’ is at odds with itself, he is in arcadia but disrupting the landscape with the manmade monument - imperfect relationship

carving in stone stands in contrast with the fleeting nature of the pastoral poetic contest

the monument, the words upon it and the figure which it commemorates exist outside of time because of their permanence - their commitment to the page permits an eternal community of artists to be in constant dialogue with one another

their silence does not eliminate their words, puts them on the page