Vergil: Eclogue VII

This eclogue concerns the shepherds Meliboeus, Corydon and Thyrsis. It opens with the figure of Daphnis, who is usually considered the inventor of pastoral poetry, sitting ‘beneath a rustling ilex-tree.’ The ‘rustling’ (sometimes translated as ‘whispering’) invokes a feeling of excitement and anticipation for what is about to happen. As Thyrsis and Corydon gather their flocks, Meliboeus encounters Daphnis beneath the tree and is persuaded to rest with him in the shade. Daphnis appears to be almost surreal to Meliboeus as he is shocked to see him, which shows that he is not included with the other shepherds. As the figurehead for the shepherd-poet, it is as though Daphnis is at the scene to oversee the others, though he is portrayed as relaxed and leisurely.

The landscape of this eclogue is particularly idyllic with the mention of the river Mincius and his ‘tender rushes’ over ‘verdant banks’, which brings forth images of fertility and richness. This is furthered by the abundance of animals in the scene - the sheep, ‘the she-goats swollen with milk’, the ‘swarming’ bees. The liveliness and action that surrounds the scene adds to this idyllic setting as well as the description of Corydon and Thyrsis who are ‘in the flower of age, Arcadians both.’ The mention of Arcadia, a sacred, untainted land, elevates the status of these shepherds as they are embodiments of the pastoral mode.

Meliboeus then reveals that Thyrsis and Corydon are to have a singing competition, which according to Meliboeus is ‘no slight matter’ so he ‘let[s] [his] business wait upon their sport’. By creating a spectator out of Meliboeus, rather than an actor, Virgil includes the reader into the action of this eclogue as a direct connection can be made with Meliboeus. Although the ‘singing-bout’ is named ‘sport’ implying a sense of fun and merriment amongst the shepherds, the competition seems fiercer, because of the fast-paced nature of the verses. The idea is that Corydon begins by singing a verse which is then responded to by Thyrsis.

With each verse, Corydon introduces a new topic, leaving Thyrsis to form a rebuttal. The verses are not politically charged but more an artistic assertion of the pastoral form. The two men compete with each other for the attentions of the gods, in the section where Thyrsis first stumbles, as pointed out by Charles Fantazzi and Carl W. Querbach. Corydon offers Diana (the goddess of chastity and hunting) a ‘bristling boar’s head’ and a statue of herself. Thyrsis on the other hand looks to Priapus, Diana’s opposite as the god of male arousal, and asserts his intention to outdo the artist Mican with his own statue for the god.

By the end of the exchange, Meliboeus declares Corydon the victor describing Thyrsis’ struggle. Rory B. Egan attributes Corydon’s victory to his final verse in which, for the first time in the contest, he directly responds to something that Thyrsis has previously sang. Egan shows how in the original Latin, Corydon’s play on words is far superior to Thyrsis’, especially regarding his lover Phyllis. Corydon corresponds to the latin corylor which means hazel, so in the line ‘Phyllis loves hazels’, he hints at a cuckolding situation in which actually Phyllis loves Corydon. For Egan, this seals Corydon’s victory in the contest as he outwits Thyrsis on a personal level.

SADIYA