epigram

thumb|Robert Hayman's 1628 book Quodlibets devotes much of its text to epigrams.

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An epigram is a short, witty piece of writing, often in verse, that expresses a single thought or observation with clever brevity. The form was popular enough in the 17th century that writers like Robert Hayman devoted entire books to collections of them, suggesting epirams were valued as a distinctive literary art.

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Image: Marble plaque with epigram of Sopatros MET DP132678.jpg

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Commons category: Epigrams

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~8 min read

Article

9 sections

Contents

Ancient Greek
Ancient Roman
English
Poetic epigrams
In art
See also
References
Further reading
External links

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 Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia.