Poetry with Samuel Taylor Coleridge: What is an Epigram?

Earlier this week, to herald in National Poetry Month, I posted an epigram written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Here it is:

Epigram

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Sir, I admit your general rule.

That every poet is a fool,

But you yourself may serve to show it,

That every fool is not a poet.

(This poem is in the public domain.) 

I wrote a reply:

Response to Samuel Taylor Coleridge Epigram on Fools

by Tamera Will Wissinger

Say I concede your general rule

That every poet is a fool,

But this spring month may serve to show it,

An April fool could turn a poet.

© 2013 Tamera Will Wissinger

As I began to think about these poems it occurred to me that they are triple and quintuple-duty poems. What I mean is that they encompass more than a single poetic form. Here’s how:

1. They are both epigram poems (a short, funny poem).
2. They are both quatrains (a stanza with four lines).
3. They are both poems of address (a poem where the poet is speaking to someone or something).
4. My reply is also a parody poem (a poem that begins in the same way as a poem that someone else wrote, but changes as the poem develops).
5. In my reply I’m also using the poetic technique of apostrophe (speaking to someone or something that cannot reply).

EPIGRAM POEMS

Today I'm focusing on epigram poems. When I looked up the word epigram in the dictionary, here’s what it said related to poetry: “a short, often satirical poem dealing concisely with a single subject and usually ending with a witty or ingenious turn of thought.” Dictionary.com LLC. Accessed April 04, 2013. dictionary.reference.com

Here is what Samuel Taylor Coleridge had to say about epigrams:

Epigram

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

What is an epigram? A dwarfish whole,

It’s body brevity, and wit its soul.

(This poem is in the public domain.)

I think this is just wonderful – Samuel used an epigram poem to define an epigram! It’s short (a single couplet), on a single subject, and very clever.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge courtesy of poets.orgIn the earlier epigram at the top of this post, Samuel uses a quatrain, which gives him more time and room to form his thought, and it allows him to include satire. I can imagine Samuel Taylor Coleridge having an after-dinner conversation with some fellow who is perhaps belittling Samuel’s work as a poet, calling all poets fools, maybe even suggesting that poetry is easy – that anybody could do it. Maybe the guy even recited one of his own poems – maybe it was awful! Maybe that prompted Samuel to sit down later that night and write his witty poem. I don’t know for sure, but it’s fun to think about.

In my response, I wanted to keep that same light-hearted approach that’s in Samuel’s poem. I don’t really think that every poet is a fool, and I doubt that Samuel did, either. I think that he’s actually getting all of the poets on his side to say – “Hey, we’re not fools! We’re smart and funny and talented.” I think that’s part of the satire – using humor to try and let people see thing differently. My goal was to find a light-hearted way to align with Samuel on April Fools’ Day, but to also welcome reluctant poets to join us during National Poetry Month. Fools or not – poets have a lot of fun in April! (And all year long, actually.)

In the process of writing my epigram response, I ended up also writing a parody poem (a form that I will talk about more next week), and having a small conversation with Samuel Taylor Coleridge in a poem of address using apostrophe (a poetic form and technique that I’ll discuss more in two weeks). This is what happens sometimes with poetry – you set out to write one thing, and you end up writing a whole lot more than you ever expected you would. There’s nothing foolish about that, right?

WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY WRITING AN EPIGRAM POEM?

Do you have an idea for an epigram? Here are a few questions that might help you start:

• Did someone recently say something that made you angry or hurt your feelings? (The way I imagine someone did to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.)
• Did you have to eat something recently that didn’t taste good to you?
• Did you notice something funny or interesting in nature?
• What else has been going on that you could turn into humor?

Take your own experiences or observations and try to see them in a comical way. Choose one idea and jot down some ideas. Make it a couplet or a quatrain, or even three lines – it doesn’t even have to rhyme – it only needs to be brief, on a single subject, and very clever.  Have fun! 

I hope to see you next week when I discuss parody poems!

~~~~~~~

For more details on National Poetry Month, visit the Academy of American Poets!

This week Poetry Friday is being celebrated at Robyn Hood Black's Read, Write, Howl 

And if verse novels for boy readers are interesting to you, Gabrielle is talking about four interesting verse novels at versenovels.com

04.05.13