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An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and 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 ...
statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two millennia. The presence of
wit Wit is a form of intelligent humour, the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny. Someone witty is a person who is skilled at making clever and funny remarks. Forms of wit include the quip, repartee, and wisecrack. For ...
or sarcasm tends to distinguish non-poetic epigrams from
aphorisms An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tr ...
and adages, which tend to lack 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. Epigram became a literary genre in the
Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
, 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 The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pre ...
, elegiac couplets). 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 agric ...
, 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. ...
, 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 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 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 o ...
, as practised by (among others) his contemporary
Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...
. Greek epigram was actually much more diverse, as the Milan Papyrus now indicates. A major source for Greek literary epigram is the '' Greek Anthology'', 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 In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
through the Imperial period and
Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English h ...
into the compiler's own
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
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, scu ...
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 pe ...
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 Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
, 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 burie ...
, 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: :' :' :I'm astonished, wall, that you haven't collapsed into ruins, :since you're holding up the weary verse of so many poets. 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 Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His ...
, who wrote both invectives and love epigrams – his poem 85 is one of the latter. :' :' : I hate and I love. Maybe you'd like to know why I do? : I don't know, but I feel it happening, and I am tormented. Martial, 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): :' :' :' :' :Learn what you don't know: one work of (Domitius) Marsus or learned Pedo :often stretches out over a doublesided page. :A work isn't long if you can't take anything out of it, :but you, Cosconius, write even a couplet too long. Poets known for their epigrams whose work has been lost include
Cornificia Cornificia (c. 85 BCc. 40 BC) was a Roman poet and writer of epigrams of the 1st century BC. Life Cornificia belongs to the last generation of the Roman Republic.Stevenson, Jane: ''Women Latin Poets: Language, Gender, and Authority from Antiqui ...
.


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 The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
and the Greek and Roman poets. Two successive lines of verse that rhyme with each other are known as a
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 ...
. Since 1600, the couplet has been featured as a part of the longer sonnet form, most notably in
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
'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 excellent 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, Samuel ...
was also used by
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...
in his poem "
Auguries of Innocence "Auguries of Innocence" is a poem by William Blake, from a notebook of his now known as the Pickering Manuscript. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.The Pickering Manuscript" Online. Accessed 13 December 2010. It is assumed to have been written i ...
", and also by
Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
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 P ...
in his fables, and by
Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
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 th ...
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 Fixed verse forms are a kind of template or formula that poetry can be composed in. The opposite of fixed verse is free verse poetry, which by design has little or no pre-established guidelines. The various poetic forms, such as meter, rhyme ...
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 Sidney ...
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 A ...
verse form became widely known in the poetry of the Scottish 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 ...
. These were originally labelled epigrams but later identified as image cinquains in the style of
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 Sidney ...
. J. V. Cunningham 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 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lak ...
("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 :Little strokes :Fell great oaks. :—
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...
:Here lies my wife: here let her lie! :Now she's at restand so am I. :—
John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...
: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 '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...
("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 politica ...
: 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 John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court. The Restoration reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodie ...
(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 o ...
) :I am His Highness' dog at Kew; :Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you? :—
Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
:I'm tired of Love: I'm still more tired of Rhyme. :But Money gives me pleasure all the time. :—
Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. ...
:I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free. :—
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March ( OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in nine different years. Kazantzakis's n ...
: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 :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.


See also

* Admetus (epigrammatist) * Aphorism *
Epigraph (archeology) Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
* Epigraph (literature) *
Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
* Wikisource: Epigram


Notes


Further reading

* Bruss, Jon. 2010. "Epigram." In ''A Companion to Hellenistic Literature.'' Edited by James J. Clauss and Martine Cuypers, 117–135. Chichester, UK: Blackwell. * Day, Joseph. 1989. "Rituals in Stone: Early Greek Grave Epigrams and Monuments." ''Journal of Hellenic Studies'' 109:22–27. * Gow, A. S. F. 1958. ''The Greek Anthology: Sources and Ascriptions.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press. * Henriksén, Christer (ed.). 2019.
A Companion to Ancient Epigram
'. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell. * Nisbet, Gideon. 2003. ''Greek Epigram in the Roman Empire: Martial’s Forgotten Rivals.'' Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. * Nixon, Paul. 1963. ''Martial and the Modern Epigram.'' New York: Cooper Square. * Petrain, David. 2012. "The Archaeology of the Epigrams from the Tabulae Iliacae: Adaptation, Allusion, Alteration." ''Mnemosyne'' 65.4–5: 597–635. * Rimell, Victoria. 2008. ''Martial’s Rome: Empire and the Ideology of Epigram.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press. * Rosen, Ralph. 2007. "The Hellenistic Epigrams on Archilochus and Hipponax." In ''Brill’s Companion to Hellenistic Epigram: Down to Philip.'' Edited by Peter Bing and Jon Bruss, 459–476. Brill’s Companions in Classical Studies. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. * Sullivan, John P. 1990. "Martial and English Poetry." ''Classical Antiquity'' 9:149–174. * Tarán, Sonya Lida. 1979. ''The Art of variation in the Hellenistic Epigram.'' Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.


External links

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