Task

Ben Jonson has several famous lines found in his poetry.  These lines are called epigrams. An epigram is a concise and witty saying found in a short poem or sentence. 

“Pray thee, take care, that tak’st my Book in hand,/To read it well: that is, to understand.” 

Jonson wrote this epigram to his readers before they began reading.

Another one of Jonson’s epigrams happens in the first line in “Song of Celia.” 

“Drink to me only with thine eyes,/And I will pledge with mine.”

Two other popular epigrams in Jonson’s time are

“If all you boast of your great Art be true;/Sure, willing Poverty lives most in you.”

And

“Thou call’st me a Poet, as a term of Shame:/But I have my Revenge made, in they Name.”

These famous epigrams all have three characteristics in common:

  1. They are short lines with lively rhythms
  2. They have contradictory twists
  3. They are parallel phrases or clauses.
Think about modern society.  Where do we tend to see these epigrams?  Yes, they are mottos on billboards, t-shirts, tags, coffee cups, etc.

Your task is to write three epigrams following the same characteristics that Ben Jonson did.  Share with your classmates in the 3.05 Epigram Discussion to see how witty and clever you all are.  Comment on at least two of your classmates’ work.

 

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