The eclogue is a subgenre of lyric poetry, a poetic focused on the theme of love, which is characterized by presented in dialogue form, like a piece of theater, but a single act. The interpreters of this literary composition, by tradition, have been the shepherds who tell about their loves and life in the country.
In the eclogue, the stories told are short, therefore, it is not necessary to change costumes or scenarios (as in traditional plays). The context where it takes place is the field of paradisiacal appearance and where music plays an important role in marking the guidelines and times of each dialogue.
Although it is true that eclogues are most of the time expressed in the form of dialogue, it can also be presented as a pastoral monologue.
Eclogues originated from the lV century BC, however the eclogues of that time do not resemble those that are known now, this is because with the passage of time they have been modified and updated. One of the first eclogues were those created during the Roman Empire, one of them was "idyll" of Theocritus, a passionate about poem and culture; all the poems of this author always had a pastoral character.
From this great writer, famous for his preference for pastoral songs, arises Virgilio, who always felt admiration for Alexandrian poets like Theocritus. Because of this, Virgilio began to create his bucolic, known as eclogues, in which he added autobiographical elements, obtaining from each pastor an imaginary character that concealed a real character.
In Castilian literature, the exponents of this genre were: Lucas Fernández, Garcilaso de la Vega, Juan de la Enzina. However, the most outstanding was Garcilaso de la Vega, since his eclogues gave a great sample of this genre in unforgettable verses.
Here is a sample of Garcilaso de la Vega's work:
