Questions for Eclogue Four.
Instructions: Answers the following questions by means of a careful and detailed reading Vergil’s Fourth Eclogue. Textual references and quotations are crucial for supporting each answer. Due Monday, March 7. Value 100 points. Email/see me for help and to share ideas. You must work independently on this assignment and sign pledge that you have done so. Type answers and email or give to me before 10:00 on Monday, Morning, March 7th.
1) Eclogue Fourth opens with a commitment by Vergil to sing paulo maiora. In this context what for Vergil are maiora? What in the opening lines is contrasted with maiora? Based on your reading of the poem define maiora and support your definition with textual evidence.
2) Vergil’s Fourth Eclogue belongs to a collection of ten poems modeled to a large extent on the pastoral poetry of Theocritus. What in the poem reflects the pastoral genre and how do these pastoral elements relate to the maiora discussed in question one? Make of list of Latin words and phrases that illustrated how Vergil has employed pastoral elements and conventions in this poem.
3) How does Vergil’s Forth Eclogue reflect the selections of Hesiod’s Works and Days and Aratus’ Phenomena that you have read? Support with textual evidence from Vergil’s Latin and the other two in translation.
4) Make a list of references to heroes, heroic myth and heroic epic referenced in this poem and discuss how such references function within the context of the poem as a whole. Support you answers with textual references. You may need to use the OCD or a mythological dictionary.
5) What gods and goddesses appear or are referenced in this poem and how do they relate to the subject matter of this poem?
6) Where and how does Vergil position himself as poet or vates within this poem? What in this poem suggests Vergil’s poetic vision/agenda. What mythological or legendary singers/musiciansappear in the poem and how are they significant? What is suggested about the relationship between poet and patron?