idyls

Idylls, also written idylls or idyls, is the plural form of idyll, a short poem or prose piece that depicts a peaceful, pastoral, or idealized scene, often framed as a song of rural life. In broader use, an idyl may refer to a linked sequence of poems that together present a bucolic world or mood of tranquility. The word derives from the Greek idyllion, via Latin idylus, and entered English through early modern usage. In English-language poetry, idyl has been used since the 16th century, with spelling variants including idyl and idyll. The plural forms in modern English are typically idylls or idyls, with idylls being more common in British usage and idyls appearing in some American texts.

In the classical tradition, the term is linked to pastoral poetry; Theocritus, Virgil, and other poets wrote idylls or idyls describing rustic scenes, shepherds, and shepherdesses. In English literature, the form gained particular prestige during the Romantic era, when poets produced pastoral pieces and series. The best-known instance of the title Idylls of the King is Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King, a cycle of narrative poems begun in 1859 that reworks Arthurian legend into meditations on heroism, faith, and social order. Though not strictly pastoral, it uses the idyll as a framework for moral reflection.

Other collections and poems have used the title or form, but the term remains a general descriptor for compact, tranquil verse and for sequences that evoke pastoral landscapes. See also idyll, pastoral poetry, Arthurian literature.