IDYL or IDLL

IDYL

DEFINITIONS OF IDYL OR IDYLL

                    

·         A simple descriptive work in poetry or prose that deals with rustic life or pastoral scenes or suggests a mood of peace and contentment.

·         A narrative poem (as Tennyson's Idylls of the King) treating an epic, romantic, or tragic theme.

·         A lighthearted carefree episode that is a fit subject for an idyll.

·         A romantic interlude.

·         In literature, a simple descriptive work in poetry or prose that deals with rustic life or pastoral scenes or suggests a mood of peace and contentment. Idylls have taken varying forms, from the eclogue to the long narrative poem treating an epic, romantic, or tragic theme.

·         (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) a poem or prose work describing an idealized rural life, pastoral scenes, etc.

·         (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) any simple narrative or descriptive piece in poetry or prose.

·         A charming or picturesque scene or event.

·         (Music / Classical Music) a piece of music with a calm or pastoral character.

·         A poem or prose composition describing pastoral scenes or events or any charmingly simple episode or picturesque scene.

·         Material suitable for such a work.

·         A long narrative poem on a major theme: Tennyson's Idylls of the King.

·         An episode or scene of idyllic charm.

·         A brief romantic affair.

HISTORY OF IDYL OR IDYLL

One of the main literary forms of bucolic poetry. The term “idyll” was first applied in the scholia to the short poems of the ancient Greek poet Theocritus, which were written primarily in hexameter and in different literary forms (the mime, epyllion, and lyric monologue). The poems are linked by an interest in the daily life of simple people, in personal feelings, and in nature, and the images are presented with a deliberate lack of artifice and a marked nonsocial context. Vergil followed Theocritus’ lead.

In modern European literature the term “idyll” is broadly applied to all bucolic poetry, including the idyll proper, all varieties of pastoral poetry, and works with idyllic strains and motifs. In the narrow sense of the word, an idyll is a form of the lyric and the epic—a short poem depicting a tranquil existence in harmony with nature, which focuses on the poet’s or hero’s inner feelings (the idyll proper). It became a favorite genre of such sentimentalists as I. H. Voss, F. Miiller, and Jean Paul (Germany) and S. Gessner (Switzerland). Examples of the idyll in Russian literature are found in the works of A. A. Del’vig, N. I. Gnedich, and V. I. Panaev.