We explain what an epigram is, its origin, history, characteristics and authors who cultivated it. Also, examples throughout history.
What is an epigram?
An epigram is a form of poetic composition, usually brief, that expresses in a verse and in an ingenious way, a content of a festive or satirical nature. At the same time, it is also possible to call any phrase of a text major (a novel, a story, a play) that contains in its formulation a truth succinct, usually a generalization, which is otherwise considered valuable.
Its name comes from the Greek voices epi ("Over" or "over") and gramma (“Writing”), since originally it was a short and deep phrase that was inscribed on a weapon, a gift or even the wall of the tomb (thus giving rise to the epitaph and the epigraph, among other texts).
Sometime around the 4th century BC. C. the term happened to designate a verse brief and suitable to be inscribed in this way, with erotic, sententious or moral content, and reached its apogee during the Alexandrian era. From there it became part of the Greek heritage in Roman culture and, later, of the Roman heritage in the literature European.
The epigram has been practiced and valued since antiquity to this day, and compilations of Greek and Roman epigrams (such as the Palatine Anthology edited in 917, but with much earlier texts), as well as medieval and other historical moments.
Great modern authors such as John Donne, Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, Voltaire, Ramón Gómez de la Serna or Camilo José Cela, to name just a few, left a vast epigrammatic or poems very close to the epigram.
Characteristics of the epigram
In general terms, an epigram is characterized by the following:
- It is short (one or a few lines in length) and can be given in prose or, more commonly, in verse.
- It has a satirical, humorous, scathing content or it reveals a deep truth or a hidden meaning. However, they are not usually moralizing or have moral some.
- Generally, it consists of two parts: the first one presents or evaluates a situation more or less objectively, and the second one that subjectively finishes what has been said.
- They have a language free (which can even be vulgar) and a playful purpose.
Examples of epigrams
Below, and as an example, some epigrams by well-known authors:
- Why don't I send you, Pontiliano, my little books?
So that you, Pontiliano, don't send me yours.
Marco Valerio Marcial (Roman poet, 40-104). - Mr. Don Juan de Robres,
with unparalleled charity,
made this holy hospital ...
and he also made the poor.
Juan de Iriarte (Spanish poet, 1702-1771). - Margarita was lucky
as an interposed person,
Well, Juarez found her exposed
but he made her a wife.
Salvador Novo (Mexican poet, 1904-1974).