idyll

idyll
/uyd"l/, n.
1. a poem or prose composition, usually describing pastoral scenes or events or any charmingly simple episode, appealing incident, or the like.
2. a simple descriptive or narrative piece in verse or prose.
3. material suitable for such a work.
4. an episode or scene of idyllic charm.
5. a brief or inconsequential romantic affair.
6. Music. a composition, usually instrumental, of a pastoral or sentimental character.
Also, idyl.
[1595-1605; < L idyllium < Gk eidýllion short pastoral poem, equiv. to eíd(os) form + -yllion dim. suffix]

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or idyl

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 (such as Alfred Tennyson's "Idylls of the King").

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      also spelled Idyl (from Greek eidyllion, “little picture”), a short poem of a pastoral or rural character in which something of the element of landscape is depicted or suggested. The term was used in Greco-Roman antiquity to designate a variety of brief poems on simple subjects in which the description of natural objects was introduced. The conventions of the pastoral were developed by the Alexandrian school of poetry, particularly by Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus, in the 3rd century BC, and the Idylls of Theocritus are the source of the popular idea of this type of poem.

      The word was revived during the Renaissance, when some poets employed it to distinguish narrative pastorals from those in dialogue. The general use, or misuse, of the word arose in the 19th century from the popularity of two works, the Idylles héroïques (1858) of Victor-Richard de Laprade and the Idylls of the King (1859) of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, neither of which was related to the pastoral tradition. Thereafter the word was used indiscriminately to refer to works on a variety of subjects.

      Although it is impossible to define the idyll as a definite literary form, the adjective idyllic has come to be synonymous with the rustic, pastoral, and tranquil, the mood first created by the Alexandrian poets. See also eclogue.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • idyll — idyll; idyll·ist; …   English syllables

  • Idyll — (unrichtig die Idylle, v. gr. Eidyllion, ein Bildchen), 1) eigentlich jedes kleinere Gedicht, sei es lyrisch od. episch; 2) bes. Gedicht, welches anmuthige Scenen aus dem Leben in seiner ursprünglichen Natürlichkeit u. Freiheit von den Mängeln u …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Idyll — (das, daneben die Idylle) heißt ein poetisches Werk, in dem eine eigenartige ästhetische Grundstimmung, nämlich die des Idyllischen, zur Geltung kommt. Das Idyllische wurde von Schiller (in seiner Abhandlung »Über naive und sentimentalische… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Idyll — (Idylle, grch., »kleines Bild«), eine Dichtung, die Vorgänge aus dem einfach patriarchalischen, bes. dem Hirten , Schäfer und Fischerleben schildert (bukolische Poesie; vom grch. bukólos, »Rinderhirt«); bei den Griechen durch Theokrit, bei den… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • idyll — (n.) also idyl, c.1600, picturesque pastoral poem, from L. idyllium, from Gk. eidyllion short, descriptive poem, usually of rustic or pastoral type, lit. a little picture, dim. of eidos form (see OID (Cf. oid)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Idyll — »Bild friedlichen und einfachen Lebens in (meist) ländlicher Abgeschiedenheit«: Das Fremdwort wurde im 18. Jh. aus lat. idyllium »kleines ‹Hirten›gedicht« entlehnt, das aus griech. eidýllion stammt. Dies ist eine Verkleinerungsbildung zu griech.… …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • idyll — ► NOUN 1) a blissful or peaceful period or situation. 2) a short description in verse or prose of a picturesque pastoral scene or incident. ORIGIN Greek eidullion little form …   English terms dictionary

  • idyll — or idyl [īd′ l; ] Brit [ id′ l] n. [L idyllium < Gr eidyllion, dim. of eidos, a form, figure, image: see OID] 1. a short poem or prose work describing a simple, peaceful scene of rural or pastoral life 2. a scene or incident suitable for such… …   English World dictionary

  • Idyll — Nicolas Poussin: Les Bergers d’Arcadie ou Et in Arcadia ego, 1638–1640 Der Ausdruck Idyll (auch: Idylle) bezeichnet heute harmonisch verklärtes ländliches Leben. Man meint damit meist ein Bild oder einen Zustand, das auf den Betrachter… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • idyll — [[t]ɪ̱dɪl, AM a͟ɪd(ə)l[/t]] idylls N COUNT If you describe a situation as an idyll, you mean that it is idyllic. She finds that the sleepy town she moves to isn t the rural idyll she imagined... Though they still talked a lot, Harry felt that… …   English dictionary

  • idyll — UK [ˈɪd(ə)l] / US [ˈaɪd(ə)l] noun [countable] Word forms idyll : singular idyll plural idylls literary a place or situation where everyone is very happy and there are no problems a rural idyll …   English dictionary

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