Epigram: Difference between revisions

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{{Distinguish|Epigraph (disambiguation){{!}}Epigraph}}
{{Distinguish|Epigraph (disambiguation){{!}}Epigraph}}
}}
}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
[[File:Quodlibets Epigrams.JPG|thumb|[[Robert Hayman]]'s 1628 book ''Quodlibets'' devotes much of its text to epigrams.]]
[[File:Quodlibets Epigrams.JPG|thumb|[[Robert Hayman]]'s 1628 book ''Quodlibets'' devotes much of its text to epigrams.]]


An '''epigram''' is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or [[satirical]] statement. The word derives from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἐπίγραμμα}} ({{Transliteration|grc|epígramma}}, "inscription", from {{lang|grc|ἐπιγράφειν}} [{{Transliteration|grc|epigráphein}}], "to write on, to inscribe").<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=epigram "epigram"]. ''[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]''.</ref> This [[literary device]] has been practiced for over two millennia.
An '''epigram''' is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or [[satirical]] statement. The word derives from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|{{math|ἐπίγραμμα}}}} ({{Transliteration|grc|epígramma}}, "inscription", from {{lang|grc|{{math|ἐπιγράφειν}}}} [{{Transliteration|grc|epigráphein}}], "to write on, to inscribe").<ref>
{{cite dictionary
|title=epigram
|dictionary=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]
|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=epigram
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508231918/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=epigram
|archive-date=2016-05-08
}}
</ref> 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]]s, which typically do not show those qualities.
The presence of [[wit]] or [[sarcasm]] tends to distinguish non-poetic epigrams from [[aphorisms]] and [[adage]]s, which typically do not show those qualities.
Line 13: Line 22:
{{unreferenced section |date=June 2022}}
{{unreferenced section |date=June 2022}}


The [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] tradition of epigrams began as poems inscribed on votive offerings at sanctuaries{{spaced ndash}}including statues of athletes{{spaced ndash}}and on funerary monuments, for example [[Battle of Thermopylae#Epitaph of Simonides|"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 (poetry)|verse]]. Epigram became a [[literary genre]] in the [[Hellenistic period]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greek Poetry: Epigrams |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780195389661/obo-9780195389661-0049.xml |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=obo |language=en}}</ref> probably developing out of scholarly collections of inscriptional epigrams.
The [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] tradition of epigrams began as poems inscribed on [[votive offering]]s at [[sanctuary|sanctuaries]] – including statues of athletes – and on funerary monuments, for example [[Battle of Thermopylae#Epitaph of Simonides|"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 (poetry)|verse]]. Epigram became a [[literary genre]] in the [[Hellenistic period]],<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
|first1=Ruth  |last1=Scodel
|first2=Peter |last2=Bing
|date=26 September 2022
|title=Greek poetry: Epigrams
|encyclopedia=[[Oxford Bibliographies]]
|edition=online |lang=en
|place=Oxford, UK  |publisher=Oxford University Press
|doi=10.1093/obo/9780195389661-0049
|url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780195389661/obo-9780195389661-0049.xml
|url-status=live |via=oxfordbibliographies.com |access-date=2024-11-10
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512184002/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780195389661/obo-9780195389661-0049.xml
|archive-date=2024-05-12
|url-access=subscription
}}
</ref> probably developing out of scholarly collections of inscriptional epigrams.


Though modern epigrams are usually thought of as very short, [[Ancient Greek literature|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 (poetry)|metre]], [[elegiac couplets]]). In the [[Classical antiquity|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 [[Concision|concise]], 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 elements{{spaced ndash}}they 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.
Though modern epigrams are usually thought of as very short, [[Ancient Greek literature|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 (poetry)|metre]], [[elegiac couplets]]). In the [[Classical antiquity|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 [[Concision|concise]], 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 elements{{spaced ndash}}they 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.
Line 19: Line 44:
Hellenistic epigrams are also thought of as having a "point"{{spaced ndash}}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]], 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]], as practised by (among others) his contemporary [[Juvenal]]. Greek epigram was actually much more diverse, as the [[Milan Papyrus]] now indicates.
Hellenistic epigrams are also thought of as having a "point"{{spaced ndash}}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]], 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]], 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]]'', a compilation from the 10th century AD based on older collections, including those of [[Meleager of Gadara|Meleager]] and Philippus. It contains epigrams ranging from the [[Hellenistic period]] through the [[Roman Empire|Imperial period]] and [[Late Antiquity]] into the compiler's own [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] era{{spaced ndash}}a 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]] and amorous [[homosexual]] epigrams called the {{lang|grc|Μοῦσα Παιδικἠ}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Mousa Paidike}}, "The Boyish Muse").
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 through the [[Roman Empire|Imperial period]] and [[Late Antiquity]] into the compiler's own [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] era – a 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]] and amorous [[homosexual]] epigrams called the {{lang|grc|{{math|Μοῦσα Παιδικἠ}}}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Mousa Paidike}}, "The Boyish Muse").


==Ancient Roman==
==Ancient Roman==
Line 30: Line 55:
since you're holding up the weary verse of so many poets.}}
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 (poet)|Lucan]], more famous for his epic ''[[Pharsalia]]''. Authors whose epigrams survive include [[Catullus]], who wrote both invectives and love epigrams &ndash; his poem 85 is one of the latter.
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 (poet)|Lucan]], more famous for his epic ''[[Pharsalia]]''. Authors whose epigrams survive include [[Catullus]], who wrote both invectives and love epigrams – his poem&nbsp;85 is one of the latter.


{{Poem quote|{{lang|la|Odi et amo. Quare id faciam fortasse requiris.
{{Poem quote|{{lang|la|Odi et amo. Quare id faciam fortasse requiris.
Line 38: Line 63:
I don't know, but I feel it happening, and I am tormented.}}
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.<ref name="Fitzgerald2013">{{cite book|author=William Fitzgerald|title=How to Read a Latin Poem: If You Can't Read Latin Yet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDhoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA81|date=21 February 2013|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-163204-4|pages=81}}</ref><ref name="Milnor2014">{{cite book|author=Kristina Milnor|title=Graffiti and the Literary Landscape in Roman Pompeii|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ndbQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64|year=2014|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-968461-8|pages=64}}</ref><ref name="Harington2009">{{cite book|author=Sir John Harington|title=The Epigrams of Sir John Harington|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L3tjygZWWmIC&pg=PA25|year=2009|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-6002-6|pages=25}}</ref> 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):
[[Martial]], however, is considered to be the master of the Latin epigram.<ref name=Fitzgerald2013>
{{cite book
|first=William |last=Fitzgerald
|date=21 February 2013
|title=How to Read a Latin Poem: If you can't read Latin yet
|place=Oxford, UK  |publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0-19-163204-4
|page=81
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDhoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA81
|via=Google
}}
</ref><ref name=Milnor2014>
{{cite book
|first=Kristina |last=Milnor
|year=2014
|title=Graffiti and the Literary Landscape in Roman Pompeii
|place=Oxford, UK  |publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0-19-968461-8
|page=64
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ndbQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64
|via=Google
}}
</ref><ref name=Harington2009>
{{cite book
|first=Sir John |last=Harington
|year=2009
|title=The Epigrams of Sir John Harington
|publisher=Ashgate Publishing
|isbn=978-0-7546-6002-6
|page=25
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L3tjygZWWmIC&pg=PA25
|via=Google
}}
</ref> His technique relied 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):


{{Poem quote|{{lang|la|Disce quod ignoras: Marsi doctique Pedonis
{{Poem quote| {{lang|la|Disce quod ignoras: Marsi doctique Pedonis
saepe duplex unum pagina tractat opus.
saepe duplex unum pagina tractat opus.
Non sunt longa quibus nihil est quod demere possis,
Non sunt longa quibus nihil est quod demere possis,
Line 57: Line 115:
Two successive lines of verse that rhyme with each other are known as a couplet. Since 1600, the couplet has been featured as a part of the longer [[sonnet]] form, most notably in [[William Shakespeare]]'s sonnets. [[Sonnet 76]] is an example. The two-line poetic form as a [[closed couplet]] was also used by [[William Blake]] in his poem "[[Auguries of Innocence]]", and also by [[Lord Byron|Byron]] in his poem ''[[Don Juan (poem)|Don Juan]]'', by [[John Gay]] in his fables, and by [[Alexander Pope]] in his ''[[An Essay on Man]]''.
Two successive lines of verse that rhyme with each other are known as a couplet. Since 1600, the couplet has been featured as a part of the longer [[sonnet]] form, most notably in [[William Shakespeare]]'s sonnets. [[Sonnet 76]] is an example. The two-line poetic form as a [[closed couplet]] was also used by [[William Blake]] in his poem "[[Auguries of Innocence]]", and also by [[Lord Byron|Byron]] in his poem ''[[Don Juan (poem)|Don Juan]]'', by [[John Gay]] in his fables, and by [[Alexander Pope]] in his ''[[An Essay on Man]]''.


The first work of English literature penned in [[North America]] 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.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Robert|last1=Hayman |last2=Reynolds|first2=David|title=Quodlibets, Lately Come Over from New Britaniola, Old Newfoundland|date=February 2013 |publisher=Problematic Press|location=Newfoundland|isbn=9780986902727|pages=5–6|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17627994-quodlibets-lately-come-over-from-new-britaniola-old-newfoundland|access-date=14 September 2015|ref=Quodlibets, Lately Come Over from New Britaniola, Old Newfoundland}}</ref>  
The first work of English literature penned in [[North America]] was [[Robert Hayman]]'s ''Quodlibets, Lately Come Over from New Britaniola, Old Newfoundland'', which is a collection of over 300&nbsp;epigrams, many of which do not conform to the two-line rule or trend.  While the collection was written between 1618–1628 in what is now Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, it was published shortly after his return to Britain.<ref>
{{cite book
|first1=Robert |last1=Hayman
|last2=Reynolds |first2=David
|date=February 2013
|title=Quodlibets, Lately Come Over from New Britaniola, Old Newfoundland
|publisher=Problematic Press
|location=Newfoundland, Canada
|isbn=9780986902727
|pages=5–6
|ref=Quodlibets, Lately Come Over from New Britaniola, Old Newfoundland
}}
</ref>  
   
   
In [[Victorian literature|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''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2696.html |title=RPO -- George Eliot: Brother and Sister |access-date=2006-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070117053014/http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2696.html |archive-date=2007-01-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in which each of the eleven sequenced sonnets 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.
In [[Victorian literature|Victorian times]], the epigram couplet was often used by the prolific American poet [[Emily Dickinson]]. Her poem No.&nbsp;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"<ref>
{{cite web
|first=G. |last=Eliot |author-link=George Eliot
|title=Brother and Sister
|type=poem text
|series=RPO
|publisher=University of Toronto
|place=Toronto, ON, CA
|url=http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2696.html
|url-status=dead  |access-date=2006-11-13
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070117053014/http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2696.html
|archive-date=2007-01-17
}}
</ref> in which each of the eleven sequenced sonnets 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]] 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'',<ref>{{cite book|url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/BAE8954.0001.001|title=Verse / Adelaide Crapsey [electronic text]|first=Adelaide|last=Crapsey|date=1 January 1997}}</ref> first published in 1915.
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]] 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'',<ref>
{{cite book
|first=A. |last=Crapsey |author-link=Adelaide Crapsey
|date=1 January 1997
|title=Verse
|edition=electronic text
|url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/BAE8954.0001.001
|via=University of Michigan (umdl.umich.edu)
}}
</ref> first published in 1915.


By the 1930s, the five-line [[cinquain]] verse form became widely known in the poetry of the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] poet [[William Soutar]]. These were originally labelled epigrams but later identified as image cinquains in the style of [[Adelaide Crapsey]].
By the 1930s, the five-line [[cinquain]] verse form became widely known in the poetry of the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] poet [[William Soutar]]. These were originally labelled epigrams but later identified as image cinquains in the style of Adelaide Crapsey.


[[J. V. Cunningham]] was also a noted writer of epigrams (a medium suited to a "short-breathed" person).<ref>The Poems of J.V.Cunningham (ed Tomothy Steele) Faber&Faber London {{ISBN|978-0-571-24193-4}}</ref>
[[J. V. Cunningham]] was also a noted writer of epigrams (a medium suited to a "short-breathed" person).<ref>
{{cite book
|first=J.V. |last=Cunningham |author-link=J. V. Cunningham
|year=1997
|title=The Poems of J.V. Cunningham
|editor-first=Tomothy |editor-last=Steele
|publisher=Faber & Faber
|place=London, UK
|isbn=978-0-571-24193-4
}}
</ref>


==Poetic epigrams==
==Poetic epigrams==
Line 71: Line 173:


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
|text=What is an Epigram? a dwarfish whole,
|text=What is an epigram? a dwarfish whole,
Its body brevity, and wit its soul.  
Its body brevity, and wit its soul.  
|sign=[[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]
|sign=[[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]
|title="Epigram", 1809
|title="Epigram" (1809)
}}
}}


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
Line 84: Line 187:
|sign=[[A. E. Housman]]
|sign=[[A. E. Housman]]
}}
}}


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
Line 90: Line 194:
|sign=[[Benjamin Franklin]]
|sign=[[Benjamin Franklin]]
}}
}}


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
Line 96: Line 201:
|sign=[[Alexander Pope]]
|sign=[[Alexander Pope]]
}}
}}


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
Line 102: Line 208:
|sign=[[Hilaire Belloc]]
|sign=[[Hilaire Belloc]]
}}
}}


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
Line 107: Line 214:
|sign=[[Nikos Kazantzakis]]
|sign=[[Nikos Kazantzakis]]
}}
}}


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
Line 112: Line 220:
|sign=Charles Robert Anon ([[Fernando Pessoa]])
|sign=Charles Robert Anon ([[Fernando Pessoa]])
}}
}}


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
Line 118: Line 227:
|sign=[[J. V. Cunningham]]
|sign=[[J. V. Cunningham]]
}}
}}


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
Line 124: Line 234:
|sign=[[Stevie Smith]]
|sign=[[Stevie Smith]]
}}
}}


{{poem quote
{{poem quote
|text=Here lies my wife: here let her lie!
|text=Here lies my wife: here let her lie!
Now she's at rest{{spaced ndash}}and so am I.
Now she's at rest – and so am I.
|sign=[[John Dryden]]
|sign=[[John Dryden]]
}}
}}


Epigram about [[John Milton]] (many poets commented on Milton, including Dryden):<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.umsl.edu/~gradyf/2310/miltonrep1.htm|title = John Dryden "Epigram on Milton" (1688)}}</ref>
 
Epigram about [[John Milton]] (many poets commented on Milton, including [[John Dryden|Dryden]]):<ref>
{{cite web
|first=J. |last=Dryden  |author-link=John Dryden
|title=Epigram on Milton
|orig-year=1688 |date=c. 2010
|department=For further reading
|series=English 2310
|editor-first=Frank |editor-last=Grady
|type=poem text
|place=St. Louis, MO  |publisher=[[University of Missouri]]
|url=http://www.umsl.edu/~gradyf/2310/miltonrep1.htm
|url-status=live |via=umsl.edu |access-date=2020-01-10
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727164151/https://www.umsl.edu/~gradyf/2310/miltonrep1.htm
|archive-date=2023-07-27
}}
</ref>
{{poem quote
{{poem quote
|text=Three Poets, in three distant Ages born,
|text=Three Poets, in three distant Ages born,
Line 140: Line 267:
To make a third she joined the former two.
To make a third she joined the former two.
|sign=[[John Dryden]]
|sign=[[John Dryden]]
|title="Epigram on Milton", 1688
|title="Epigram on Milton" (1688)
}}
}}


Epigram about [[Charles II of England]]:
Epigram about [[Charles II of England]]:
Line 153: Line 281:


==In art==
==In art==
* ''When Guns Speak, Death Settles Disputes''<ref>{{cite web | title=When Guns Speak Death Settles Dispute | website=Gilcrease Museum | date=May 4, 2022 | url=https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/01911 | access-date=June 25, 2022}}</ref> is [[Charles Marion Russell]]'s epigrammatic title for a clash by [[gunfighter]]s of the [[American frontier|Old West]] in America.<ref>{{cite book| title=The gunfighters (2004) | via=Worldcat |publisher=Time-Life| location= London | page=6}}</ref>
* ''When guns speak death settles dispute''<ref>
{{cite web
| title=When guns speak death settles dispute
| date=4 May 2022
| place = Tulsa, OK  | publisher = Gilcrease Museum
| url=https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/01911
| url-status=live  |via=collections.gilcrease.org  | access-date=25 June 2022
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240908161602/https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/01911
| archive-date=8 September 2024
}}
</ref> is [[Charles Marion Russell]]'s epigrammatic title for a clash by [[gunfighter]]s of the [[American frontier|Old West]] in America.<ref>
{{cite book
| first = C.M. |last = Russell  |author-link = Charles Marion Russell
| year = 2004
| title = The Gunfighters
| location = London, UK  | publisher = Time-Life
| page = 6
}}
</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Library resources box
|label=Epigram |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes
|viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle=
}}
* [[Admetus (epigrammatist)]]
* [[Admetus (epigrammatist)]]
* [[Aphorism]]
* [[Aphorism]]
Line 164: Line 314:


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|25em}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Epigram |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle=}}
{{refbegin|25em|small=yes}}
* Bruss, Jon. 2010. "Epigram." In ''A Companion to Hellenistic Literature.'' Edited by James J. Clauss and Martine Cuypers, 117–135. Chichester, UK: Blackwell.
* {{cite book
* Day, Joseph. 1989. "Rituals in Stone: Early Greek Grave Epigrams and Monuments." ''Journal of Hellenic Studies'' 109:22–27.
|last=Bruss |first=Jon
* Gow, A. S. F. 1958. ''The Greek Anthology: Sources and Ascriptions.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
|year=2010
* Henriksén, Christer (ed.). 2019. ''[https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Companion_to_Ancient_Epigram.html?id=lFj5swEACAAJ A Companion to Ancient Epigram]''. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell.
|section=Epigram
* Nisbet, Gideon. 2003. ''Greek Epigram in the Roman Empire: Martial’s Forgotten Rivals.'' Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
|title=A Companion to Hellenistic Literature
* Nixon, Paul. 1963. ''Martial and the Modern Epigram.'' New York: Cooper Square.
|editor1-last=James J. |editor1-first=Clauss
* Petrain, David. 2012. "The Archaeology of the Epigrams from the Tabulae Iliacae: Adaptation, Allusion, Alteration." ''Mnemosyne'' 65.4–5: 597–635.
|editor2-first=Martine |editor2-last=Cuypers
* Rimell, Victoria. 2008. ''Martial’s Rome: Empire and the Ideology of Epigram.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.{{ISBN?}}
|pages=117–135
* 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.{{ISBN?}}
|place=Chichester, UK   |publisher=Blackwell
* 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.{{ISBN?}}
* {{cite journal
|last=Day |first=Joseph
|year=1989
|title=Rituals in stone: Early Greek grave epigrams and monuments
|journal=[[Journal of Hellenic Studies]]
|volume=109 |pages=22–27
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Gow |first=A.S.F
|year=1958
|title=The Greek Anthology: Sources and Ascriptions
|place=Cambridge, UK   |publisher=Cambridge University Press
}}
* {{cite book
|editor-last=Henriksén |editor-first=Christer
|year=2019
|title=A Companion to Ancient Epigram
|place=Hoboken, NJ  |publisher=Wiley Blackwell
|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Companion_to_Ancient_Epigram.html?id=lFj5swEACAAJ
|via=Google
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Nisbet |first=Gideon
|year=2003
|title=Greek Epigram in the Roman Empire: Martial’s forgotten rivals
|place=Oxford, UK  |publisher=Oxford University Press
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Nixon |first=Paul
|year=1963
|title=Martial and the Modern Epigram
|place=New York, NY  |publisher=Cooper Square
}}
* {{cite journal
|last=Petrain |first=David
|year=2012
|title=The archaeology of the epigrams from the ''tabulae Iliacae'': Adaptation, allusion, alteration
|journal=[[Mnemosyne (journal)|Mnemosyne]]
|volume=65 |issue=4–5 |pages=597–635
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Rimell |first=Victoria
|year=2008
|title=Martial’s Rome: Empire and the ideology of epigram
|place=Cambridge, UK   |publisher=Cambridge University Press
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Rosen |first=Ralph
|year=2007
|section=The hellenistic epigrams on Archilochus and Hipponax
|title=Brill’s Companion to Hellenistic Epigram: Down to Philip
|editor1-first=Peter |editor1-last=Bing
|editor2-first=Jon   |editor2-last=Bruss
|pages=459–476
|series=Brill's Companions in Classical Studies
|place=Leiden, NL  |publisher=Brill
}}
* {{cite journal
|last=Sullivan |first=John P.
|year=1990
|title=Martial and English Poetry
|journal=[[Classical Antiquity (journal)|Classical Antiquity]]
|volume=9 |pages=149–174
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Tarán |first=Sonya Lida
|year=1979
|title=The Art of Variation in the Hellenistic Epigram
|place=Leiden, NL  |publisher=Brill
}}
{{refend}}


==External links==
==External links==

Latest revision as of 00:53, 18 November 2025

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File:Quodlibets Epigrams.JPG
Robert Hayman's 1628 book Quodlibets devotes much of its text to epigrams.

An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek Script error: No such module "Lang". (Template:Transliteration, "inscription", from Script error: No such module "Lang". [[[:Template:Transliteration]]], "to write on, to inscribe").[1] 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 adages, which typically do not show those qualities.

Ancient Greek

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The Greek tradition of epigrams began as poems inscribed on votive offerings at sanctuaries – including statues of athletes – and 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,[2] 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). 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, 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 elementsTemplate:Spaced ndashthey 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"Template:Spaced ndashthat 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, 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, 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, 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 era – a 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 and amorous homosexual epigrams called the Script error: No such module "Lang". (Template:Transliteration, "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, 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:

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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, 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.

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Martial, however, is considered to be the master of the Latin epigram.[3][4][5] His technique relied 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):

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Poets known for their epigrams whose work has been lost include Cornificia.

English

In early English literature the short couplet 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 couplet. Since 1600, the couplet has been featured as a part of the longer sonnet form, most notably in William Shakespeare's sonnets. Sonnet 76 is an example. The two-line poetic form as a closed couplet was also used by William Blake in his poem "Auguries of Innocence", and also by Byron in his poem Don Juan, by John Gay in his fables, and by Alexander Pope in his An Essay on Man.

The first work of English literature penned in North America 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 1618–1628 in what is now Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, it was published shortly after his return to Britain.[6]

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"[7] in which each of the eleven sequenced sonnets 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 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,[8] first published in 1915.

By the 1930s, the five-line cinquain verse form became widely known in the poetry of the Scottish poet William Soutar. These were originally labelled epigrams but later identified as image cinquains in the style of Adelaide Crapsey.

J. V. Cunningham was also a noted writer of epigrams (a medium suited to a "short-breathed" person).[9]

Poetic epigrams

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Epigram about John Milton (many poets commented on Milton, including Dryden):[10] Template:Poem quote


Epigram about Charles II of England: Template:Poem quote

In art

See also

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References

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Further reading

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External links

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