An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia. The presence of wit or sarcasm tends to distinguish non-poetic epigrams from aphorisms and

adage An adage (; Latin: adagium) is a memorable and usually philosophical aphorism that communicates an important truth derived from experience, custom, or both, and that many people consider true and credible because of its longeval tradition, i.e. ...

s, which typically do not show those qualities.

Ancient Greek

The Greek tradition of epigrams began as poems inscribed on votive offerings at sanctuariesincluding statues of athletesand on funerary monuments, for example "Go tell it to the Spartans, passersby...". These original epigrams did the same job as a short prose text might have done, but in

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

. Epigram became a literary genre in the Hellenistic period, probably developing out of scholarly collections of inscriptional epigrams. Though modern epigrams are usually thought of as very short, Greek literary epigram was not always as short as later examples, and the divide between "epigram" and " elegy" is sometimes indistinct (they share a characteristic metre,

elegiac couplets The elegiac couplet is a poetic form used by Greek lyric poets for a variety of themes usually of smaller scale than the epic. Roman poets, particularly Catullus, Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid, adopted the same form in Latin many years later. ...

). In the classical period, the clear distinction between them was that epigrams were inscribed and meant to be read, while elegies were recited and meant to be heard. Some elegies could be quite short, but only public epigrams were longer than ten lines. All the same, the origin of epigram in inscription exerted a residual pressure to keep things

concise Concise is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Concise is first mentioned in 1179 as ''Concisa''. Geography Concise has an area, , of . Of this area, or 24.4% is used for agr ...

, even when they were recited in Hellenistic times. Many of the characteristic types of literary epigram look back to inscriptional contexts, particularly funerary epigram, which in the Hellenistic era becomes a literary exercise. Many "sympotic" epigrams combine sympotic and funerary elementsthey tell their readers (or listeners) to drink and live for today because life is short. Generally, any theme found in classical elegies could be and were adapted for later literary epigrams. Hellenistic epigrams are also thought of as having a "point"that is, the poem ends in a punchline or satirical twist. By no means do all Greek epigrams behave this way; many are simply descriptive, but Meleager of Gadara and

Philippus of Thessalonica Philippus may refer to: * Philippus (cognomen), a name accustomed with the Roman gens ''Marcia'' * Philippus (character), a fictional character in DC Comics People * Flavius Philippus, a Roman Empire official under Emperor Constantius II c. 350 ...

, the first comprehensive anthologists, preferred the short and witty epigram. Since their collections helped form knowledge of the genre in Rome and then later throughout Europe, Epigram came to be associated with 'point', especially because the European epigram tradition takes the Latin poet

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

as its principal model; he copied and adapted Greek models (particularly the contemporary poets Lucillius and Nicarchus) selectively and in the process redefined the genre, aligning it with the indigenous Roman tradition of "satura", hexameter satire, as practised by (among others) his contemporary Juvenal. Greek epigram was actually much more diverse, as the Milan Papyrus now indicates. A major source for Greek literary epigram is the ''

Greek Anthology The ''Greek Anthology'' ( la, Anthologia Graeca) is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the Classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature. Most of the material of the ''Greek Anthology'' comes from two manuscripts, the ''Pa ...

'', a compilation from the 10th century AD based on older collections, including those of Meleager and Philippus. It contains epigrams ranging from the Hellenistic period through the Imperial period and Late Antiquity into the compiler's own Byzantine eraa thousand years of short elegiac texts on every topic under the sun. The ''Anthology'' includes one book of Christian epigrams as well as one book of

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

and amorous

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

epigrams called the (, "The Boyish Muse").

Ancient Roman

Roman epigrams owe much to their Greek predecessors and contemporaries. Roman epigrams, however, were often more satirical than Greek ones, and at times used obscene language for effect. Latin epigrams could be composed as inscriptions or graffiti, such as this one from

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

, which exists in several versions and seems from its inexact meter to have been composed by a less educated person. Its content makes it clear how popular such poems were: However, in the literary world, epigrams were most often gifts to patrons or entertaining verse to be published, not inscriptions. Many Roman writers seem to have composed epigrams, including Domitius Marsus, whose collection ''Cicuta'' (now lost) was named after the poisonous plant '' Cicuta'' for its biting wit, and

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

, more famous for his epic '' Pharsalia''. Authors whose epigrams survive include Catullus, who wrote both invectives and love epigrams – his poem 85 is one of the latter.

, however, is considered to be the master of the Latin epigram. His technique relies heavily on the satirical poem with a joke in the last line, thus drawing him closer to the modern idea of epigram as a genre. Here he defines his genre against a (probably fictional) critic (in the latter half of 2.77): Poets known for their epigrams whose work has been lost include Cornificia.

English

In early

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

the short

couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...

poem was dominated by the poetic epigram and proverb, especially in the translations of the Bible and the Greek and Roman poets. Two successive lines of verse that rhyme with each other are known as a

. Since 1600, the couplet has been featured as a part of the longer

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

form, most notably in William Shakespeare's sonnets.

Sonnet 76 Sonnet 76 is one of 154 sonnets published by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare in 1609. It's a member of the Fair Youth sequence. Interpretation This sonnet continues the theme of Sonnet 38 (38 sonnets ago), in which the '' ...

is an example. The two-line poetic form as a

closed couplet In poetics, closed couplets are two line units of verse that do not extend their sense beyond the line's end. Furthermore, the lines are usually rhymed. When the lines are in iambic pentameter, they are referred to as heroic verse. However, Samue ...

was also used by William Blake in his poem " Auguries of Innocence", and also by Byron in his poem '' Don Juan'', by

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peac ...

in his fables, and by Alexander Pope in his '' An Essay on Man''. The first work of English literature penned in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

was Robert Hayman's ''Quodlibets, Lately Come Over from New Britaniola, Old Newfoundland'', which is a collection of over 300 epigrams, many of which do not conform to the two-line rule or trend. While the collection was written between 1618 and 1628 in what is now Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, it was published shortly after his return to Britain. In Victorian times the epigram couplet was often used by the prolific American poet Emily Dickinson. Her poem No. 1534 is a typical example of her eleven poetic epigrams. The novelist George Eliot also included couplets throughout her writings. Her best example is in her sequenced sonnet poem entitled ''Brother and Sister'' in which each of the eleven sequenced sonnet ends with a couplet. In her sonnets, the preceding lead-in-line, to the couplet ending of each, could be thought of as a title for the couplet, as is shown in Sonnet VIII of the sequence. During the early 20th century, the rhymed epigram couplet form developed into a fixed verse image form, with an integral title as the third line.

Adelaide Crapsey Adelaide Crapsey (September 9, 1878 – October 8, 1914) was an American poet. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Rochester, New York. Her parents were the businesswoman Adelaide T. Crapsey and the Episcopal priest Algernon Sidne ...

codified the couplet form into a two-line rhymed verse of ten syllables per line with her image couplet poem ''On Seeing Weather-Beaten Trees'', first published in 1915. By the 1930s, the five-line

cinquain Cinquain is a class of poetic forms that employ a 5-line pattern. Earlier used to describe any five-line form, it now refers to one of several forms that are defined by specific rules and guidelines. American cinquain The modern form, known as Am ...

verse form became widely known in the poetry of the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

poet

William Soutar William Soutar (28 April 1898 – 15 October 1943) was a Scottish poet and diarist who wrote in English and in Braid Scots. He is known best for his epigrams. Life and works William Soutar was born on 28 April 1898 on South Inch Terrace in P ...

. These were originally labelled epigrams but later identified as image cinquains in the style of

J. V. Cunningham James Vincent Cunningham (August 23, 1911 – March 30, 1985) was an American poet, literary critic and teacher. Background Cunningham is described as a neo-classicist or anti-modernist. His poetry was distinguished by its clarity, brevity and ...

was also a noted writer of epigrams (a medium suited to a "short-breathed" person).

Poetic epigrams

:What is an Epigram? a dwarfish whole, :Its body brevity, and wit its soul. :— Samuel Taylor Coleridge ("Epigram", 1809) :Some can gaze and not be sick :But I could never learn the trick. :There's this to say for blood and breath; :They give a man a taste for death. :—

A. E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classical scholar and poet. After an initially poor performance while at university, he took employment as a clerk in London and established his academic reputation by pub ...

:Little strokes :Fell great oaks. :— Benjamin Franklin :Here lies my wife: here let her lie! :Now she's at restand so am I. :— John Dryden :Three Poets, in three distant Ages born, :Greece, Italy, and England did adorn. :The First in loftiness of thought surpassed; :The Next in Majesty; in both the Last. :The force of Nature could no farther go: :To make a third she joined the former two. :— John Dryden ("Epigram on Milton", 1688 (Epigram about

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

: many poets commented on Milton, including Dryden :We have a pretty witty king, :Whose word no man relies on. :He never said a foolish thing, :And never did a wise one. :— John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (epigram about

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

) :I am His Highness' dog at Kew; :Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you? :— Alexander Pope :I'm tired of Love: I'm still more tired of Rhyme. :But Money gives me pleasure all the time. :— Hilaire Belloc :I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free. :— Nikos Kazantzakis :To define the beautiful is to misunderstand it. :— Charles Robert Anon ( Fernando Pessoa) :This Humanist whom no belief constrained :Grew so broad-minded he was scatter-brained. :—

J.V. Cunningham James Vincent Cunningham (August 23, 1911 – March 30, 1985) was an American poet, literary critic and teacher. Background Cunningham is described as a neo-classicist or anti-modernist. His poetry was distinguished by its clarity, brevity and ...

:All things pass :Love and mankind is grass. :— Stevie Smith

In art

* ''When Guns Speak, Death Settles Disputes'' is Charles Marion Russell's epigrammatic title for a clash by gunfighters of the Old West in America.

References

External links

*

{{Authority control Epigrammatists Genres of poetry History of literature Poetry