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TWO IDYLLS FROM BION THE SMYRNEAN by Eugene Field

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

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Two brief poems recount ancient Greek fables featuring Eros, the god of love.

Poet
Eugene Field
Themes
growing-up, love, nature
The PoemFull text

TWO IDYLLS FROM BION THE SMYRNEAN

Eugene Field

I Once a fowler, young and artless, To the quiet greenwood came; Full of skill was he and heartless In pursuit of feathered game. And betimes he chanced to see Eros perching in a tree. "What strange bird is that, I wonder?" Thought the youth, and spread his snare; Eros, chuckling at the blunder, Gayly scampered here and there. Do his best, the simple clod Could not snare the agile god! Blubbering, to his aged master Went the fowler in dismay, And confided his disaster With that curious bird that day; "Master, hast thou ever heard Of so ill-disposed a bird?" "Heard of him? Aha, most truly!" Quoth the master with a smile; "And thou too, shall know him duly-- Thou art young, but bide awhile, And old Eros will not fly From thy presence by and by! "For when thou art somewhat older That same Eros thou didst see, More familiar grown and bolder, Shall become acquaint with thee; And when Eros comes thy way Mark my word, he comes to stay!" II Once came Venus to me, bringing Eros where my cattle fed-- "Teach this little boy your singing, Gentle herdsman," Venus said. I was young--I did not know Whom it was that Venus led-- That was many years ago! In a lusty voice but mellow-- Callow pedant! I began To instruct the little fellow In the mysteries known to man; Sung the noble cithern's praise, And the flute of dear old Pan, And the lyre that Hermes plays. But he paid no heed unto me-- Nay, that graceless little boy Coolly plotted to undo me-- With his songs of tender joy; And my pedantry o'erthrown, Eager was I to employ His sweet ritual for mine own! Ah, these years of ours are fleeting! Yet I have not vainly wrought, Since to-day I am repeating What dear lessons Eros taught; Love, and always love, and then-- Counting all things else for naught-- Love and always love again!

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

Two brief poems recount ancient Greek fables featuring Eros, the god of love. In the first poem, a young bird-catcher attempts to trap Eros in a tree but fails, while his elderly mentor cautions him that love will eventually ensnare *him* instead. In the second poem, a herdsman tries to instruct Eros in music, only to find himself learning from the boy-god — and he welcomes the experience.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Once a fowler, young and artless, / To the quiet greenwood came;

    Editor's note

    We encounter a naive young bird-catcher in a tranquil forest. The term "artless" serves a dual purpose — he is both inexperienced and innocent, which sets up the punchline: he has no clue about the situation he's about to walk into.

  2. "What strange bird is that, I wonder?" / Thought the youth, and spread his snare;

    Editor's note

    The fowler confuses Eros with a regular bird and attempts to catch him. This misunderstanding is key — love seems controllable until you get up close.

  3. Blubbering, to his aged master / Went the fowler in dismay,

    Editor's note

    Humiliated and confused, the boy rushes to his teacher. The stark difference between the crying youth and the wise old man establishes the poem's moral, which the master is about to share.

  4. "Heard of him? Aha, most truly!" / Quoth the master with a smile;

    Editor's note

    The master spots Eros right away and smiles, not in a mean way. His amusement is rooted in his own experiences. He understands that the boy can’t avoid love; he just needs to give him time to grow up and be ready for it.

  5. "For when thou art somewhat older / That same Eros thou didst see,

    Editor's note

    The master's prophecy wraps up the first idyll: Eros won't abandon the young forever. As the boy matures, love will stop avoiding him and begin to settle down. The hunter will turn into the hunted.

  6. Once came Venus to me, bringing / Eros where my cattle fed--

    Editor's note

    The second idyll begins with a memory. Venus hands Eros over to a young herdsman, asking him to teach the boy how to sing. The pastoral backdrop of cattle and open fields anchors the myth in the routine of daily life.

  7. In a lusty voice but mellow-- / Callow pedant! I began

    Editor's note

    The speaker humorously refers to his younger self as a "callow pedant." He dove into formal music lessons, mentioning instruments like the cithern, Pan's flute, and Hermes' lyre, but completely overlooked the lesson Eros was meant to impart.

  8. But he paid no heed unto me-- / Nay, that graceless little boy

    Editor's note

    Eros completely disregards the lesson and instead chooses to sing songs filled with tender joy. The roles have flipped: the supposed teacher is now the student. Love doesn’t adhere to a curriculum.

  9. Ah, these years of ours are fleeting! / Yet I have not vainly wrought,

    Editor's note

    The speaker takes a moment to consider the passage of time. Instead of mourning it, he feels fortunate — the years have taught him about love, and that’s sufficient. The poem concludes with the lines "Love and always love again," echoing like a refrain and encapsulating the entire message in one breath.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

Warm, playful, and gently wise. Field keeps the classical source material light, infusing it with teasing humor in both idylls (the bumbling fowler and the self-important young herdsman). Yet beneath the comedy lies a sincere belief that love is truly worth learning about. The tone never becomes preachy; instead, it mirrors the voice of a storyteller who has lived through these experiences and finds them amusing in hindsight.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Eros perching in a tree
Love, depicted as an elusive and unrecognizable bird, reflects how young people often overlook love’s true nature—they can stare right at it yet mistake it for something mundane or even bothersome.
The fowler's snare
The trap the youth spreads symbolizes our natural urge to capture and control love. The irony is that love can't be seized through force or trickery — it comes on its own terms.
The aged master
The old teacher embodies the experience and wisdom that can only come with age. He doesn't harbor bitterness about love; he understands how it operates, and that understanding is something youth can't rush.
Music lessons
In the second idyll, formal music — the cithern, the flute, the lyre — symbolizes intellectual or technical knowledge. Eros disregards it completely, hinting that love exists beyond what we can learn by heart.
Eros as a little boy
The classic image of Eros as a small, mischievous child captures love's unpredictability. He isn't grand or serious; instead, he's playful, elusive, and subtly in control of every situation he steps into.
Cattle / pastoral setting
The herdsman's field connects the myth to everyday life, implying that love isn’t reserved for heroes or kings — it appears wherever people are just living their lives.

§06Historical context

Historical context

Eugene Field was an American journalist and poet, celebrated for his sentimental children's poetry, but he also had a deep love for classical literature. These two pieces are loose adaptations of poems attributed to Bion of Smyrna, a Greek bucolic poet from around the first or second century BCE. Bion followed in the footsteps of Theocritus, crafting short pastoral poems that blended mythology with the realities of rural life. Field's adaptations, published in the late 1800s, maintain the playful essence of the originals while fitting them into the rhymed stanzas that appealed to his American audience. The portrayal of Eros as a playful, uncontrollable child — different from the grand Cupid found in Roman epic — is typical of Hellenistic Greek poetry, where the god of love is often shown as a small boy who cleverly outsmarts adults and disrupts their plans.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

An idyll is a brief poem, typically set in the countryside, that depicts a straightforward and enjoyable scene or story. The term originates from the Greek *eidyllion*, which translates to "little picture." Field chooses this title because these poems adhere to the tradition established by Bion and Theocritus, who crafted short rural scenes involving gods, herdsmen, and the natural world.

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Themes in this poem

Poems about growing-upPoems about lovePoems about naturePoems about time