Epigram

Epigram, in literature, a terse, pointed, frequently witty observation, often in verse. Ancient Greek epigrams were inscriptions on tombs or statues. Latin poets, including Catullus, Juvenal, and especially Martial, developed the epigram as a short satire in verse, with a twist or thrust at the end. Among writers in English regarded as master epigrammatists are John Donne, Robert Herrick, Ben Jonson, John Dryden, Jonathan Swift, and especially Alexander Pope, who in the 18th century perfected a form of epigrammatic couplet. Samuel Taylor Coleridge used the form early in the 19th century, and Oscar Wilde was a famous epigrammatist late in the century. In French, Voltaire and Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux both wrote memorable epigrams, as did G. E. Lessing in German. A literary form similar to the epigram occurs in Chinese and Japanese literature. The term has also been loosely applied to any aphorism or short popular saying.