What is the definition of epigram?
The definition of epigram is a concise and witty statement or poem in which a single subject is addressed, often ending with an unexpected twist.
Epigram
Last Updated on September 12, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 85
An epigram is a concise and witty statement or poem in which a single subject is addressed, often ending with an unexpected twist.
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Epigram originates from the Greek word epigramma, from epigraphein, meaning “to inscribe,” composed of epi (“upon”) and graphein (“to write”).
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Consider Sir Henry Wotton’s (1568–1639) epigrammatic couplet “Upon the death of Sir Albert Morton’s Wife”:
He first deceas’d: She for a little tri’d
To live without Him: lik’d it not, and di’d.
see: antithesis, aphorism, epithet, proverb
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