L2L Epigrams (ft. Carol Andrews)

Epigrams

Martial, Coleridge, Aldrich, Parker, and more!

An epigram is a definitive literary device that defies definition. It is one of the oldest genres of literature, and it stems from ancient times — the Greeks and the Romans as well as cultures farther east. (The senryū may be said to be epigrammatic ... ) Roman poet Martial, by way of Hispania, is often credited as the maker of the modern epigram, and while his epigrams could sometimes go long (fifty lines or more), they were poems that spoke to the human condition and included a contradiction, a paradox, or a “point.” More recent examples tend to be briefer — four lines, two, even one — but they are always memorable and often satirical and witty. You might call it a tweet that actually has something to say. Join Leigh, P. T., and regular-but-still-special guest Dr. Carol Andrews, associate professor emerita of literature, for a discussion of some of our favorite epigrams and the thoughts behind them.