Bucolic Poetry and Satirical Epigrams: A Literary Analysis
Bucolic Poetry
Latin bucolic poetry has its roots in Greece, in the work of Theocritus of Syracuse. At the beginning of Hellenism, Theocritus writes her romances, which in Greek means “little pictures”, pictures that inspire peasant painters and writers worldwide.
The rustic and country setting is seen as a locus amoenus, a kind of paradise away from the city with its noise and haste. A wild place where man gives vent to her sensuality. Perceived by the senses, the chirping of birds, the prairie grass and luxuriant greenery, animals in the wild, the rivers flowing, the smell of the plants… and more naive, primitive, and noble love have a place for peasants in these enclaves.
This idea of escape, of staying away from the hubbub of the city and looking for a place in the field where to vent feelings, is current.
The Eclogues of Virgil
The Eclogues are ten poems of about one hundred verses. Published one by one, the tenth eclogue reflects and embodies the general content of the other poems.
If we analyze the content of each eclogue, we see that the pathology of amorous passion and motivation that help to explain it are in poems II, VIII, and IX. Curiosities of a scientific and mythological nature dot poem VI. Poems III and VII deal with the singing and music of the shepherds. The yearning for peace and rest (what we now call “literature of escape”) and praise of nature are present in Eclogues IV and V.
The bucolic enjoyed the favor of public worship and enjoyed a special prestige and acceptance over time. Virgil is able to recreate something different from Theocritus. Thus, the landscape, climate, and environment are of Gaul; the shepherds are more conventional individuals, giving scope for more elevated and refined tones. Mythology has a small gap, enough to make its mark and personality on the poem.
This type of poetry is artificial and emotionless lyric. The simplicity of the shepherds, the ideal landscape in which they move, and the situations they live do not fit the current reality. However, Roman and Renaissance man saw it as a sort of elusive summit and it was imitated and recreated ad nauseam. The pastoral genre after Virgil has no definite continuity.
Satire and Epigrammatic Poetry
The Epigram
The epigram is a genre of ancient literature with a special charm. Short, concise, witty, and varied. The art of saying much with few words. The Roman epigram is noted for its ability to satire, criticism, and ruthless pastime; it is therefore satirical, humorous, and injective. Close to jokes and cartoons, it was a favorite of all writers and its production was relevant.
Marcial
A picturesque character, inconstant, witty, smart, and flattering of emperors.
In Martial’s epigrams, all of Roman society parades, weighted, extolling their qualities and virtues above all vices and defects, highlighting the physically handicapped and issues related to sex…
With no moralizing intention, he seems to enjoy attacking his contemporaries but not mentioning them by name. His literature is direct, rough, aggressive, and realistic, but avoids real names.
He is a master for his criticism, jokes, and cartoons, and also in the art of composition and versification. Overflowing with wit and intellectual humor. His verses are well prepared.
Praised by some and reviled by others. Martial’s epigram did not end with him in Rome; he may also be mentioned by Pliny the Younger and the Emperor Nerva.
Juvenal
The big name in the field of satire. His output consists of sixteen satires divided into five books. The same force that was in Martial, devastating, splashed all his work; he charges against everything and everyone. He caricatured characters with great acidity and aggressiveness. Foreigners and immigrants are vilified without mercy; the Greeks are particularly frowned upon, and women are not spared from his darts.
He presents a degenerate society and reacts to advocate a kind of moral purity. He longs for the past because he considers it better, simpler, and healthier. Many of his proposals have been around the world (mens sana in corpore sano). With Juvenal, satire reaches its peak. Satire has known great success in all the centuries of history.