Epigraphs in poetry
Epigraphs in poetry are short quotes or phrases, often drawn from other literary works, that are placed at the beginning of a poem or its sections. The term "epigraph" has Greek origins, meaning "to write on top of," which reflects their role in providing a thematic or conceptual foundation for the poems that follow. Historically, epigraphs have functioned to create connections between a poem and its literary predecessors, a practice that gained traction in the eighteenth century as middle-class literacy expanded. While initially used for context, modern poets have developed epigraphs into creative tools that also signal themes or offer commentary.
Prominent poets such as T.S. Eliot have popularized the use of epigraphs in the twentieth century, employing them not only to reference earlier works but also to introduce humor and commentary within their own poems. Literary critic Gérard Genette identified four primary functions of epigraphs: to provide context related to a work’s title or content, to connect to other literary works, to invoke the reputations of referenced authors, and to position authors within the literary canon. In contemporary literature, the prevalence of epigraphs has sparked debate, with some critics suggesting they can be overused or serve as a means to embellish a poem’s perceived merit. Nonetheless, epigraphs continue to foster literary dialogues, allowing poets to engage with the works and figures they reference.
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Epigraphs in poetry
Poets occasionally include short quotes or phrases, often sourced from other literary works, at the top or beginning of a poem or its internal divisions. These textual references are known as epigraphs. The term has Greek roots, combining epi-(“on”) and -graphein(“write”). Linguists frequently interpret the etymological meaning of the word “epigraph” as “to write on top of,” suggesting that an epigraph provides a conceptual or thematic starting point upon which the poet subsequently builds.
In poetry, epigraphs have historically been used to draw deliberate textual connections between a poem and its literary predecessors. While modern poets have continued this tradition, some have also deployed epigraphs in creative ways. In the early twenty-first century, literary critics and commentators have noted that epigraphs have become common in contemporary verse, a trend some observers credit to the ongoing influence of the Anglo-American poet and literary critic T.S. Eliot (1888–1965).
Background
With origins in the classical literary and cultural traditions of ancient Greece and Rome, epigraphs have been used in English literature for centuries. One of the earliest examples dates to the late fourteenth century, when the Middle English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1340–1400) used an epigraph in his seminal work The Canterbury Tales, introducing “The Knight’s Tale” with a short excerpt from the work of the Greco-Roman poet Statius (ca. 45–ca. 96).
However, literary historians note that in the Western literary tradition, epigraphs remained uncommon until the eighteenth century. Prior to that time, literacy was relatively rare, and virtually any literate person was, or was assumed to be, broadly familiar with the established literary canon. As such, poets and authors generally considered epigraphs unnecessary as a tool for providing a work with inherent context, as anyone capable of reading would already possess the foundational knowledge needed to draw connections between an emerging work and the earlier entries in the literary canon that inspired it.
In the eighteenth century, the influence of ongoing social, political, and economic change in Europe and elsewhere in the Western world brought about a sharp rise in middle-class literacy rates. Many new readers did not share the deep foundational literary knowledge held by the historical intelligentsia, prompting both authors and publishers to begin using epigraphs as a tool for providing their growing audiences with additional context. Poets and writers working in other genres, including plays, novels, and nonfiction, also began including epigraphs to draw purposeful connections between their own works and earlier entries in the literary canon.
Initially used almost exclusively to establish such textual connections, poets and writers later began using epigraphs as creative tools. In addition to providing readers with context by tying works to earlier influences, epigraphs are also used to set or signal themes or provide commentary outside the confines of the accompanying work.
Overview
Popularized in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the works of poets such as Alexander Pope (1688–1744) and John Keats (1795–1821), epigraphs had evolved into widely used literary devices by the twentieth century. Some expert observers have attributed their common presence in contemporary literature to Eliot, a highly influential master of modern poetry who regularly used epigraphs to introduce his own verse-form compositions. Examples from Eliot’s oeuvre are “The Waste Land,” which includes an epigraph from the Roman courtier and author Petronius (ca. 27–66), and his seminal poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” which opens with a six-line quotation drawn from the Inferno, written in the early fourteenth century by Dante Alighieri (ca. 1265–1321).
While Eliot frequently deployed epigraphs to connect his own works to those of other poets and authors, he also used them to create humorous internal commentary. In analyzing epigraphy in his 1987 work Seuils, translated into English in 1997 as Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation,the French literary critic Gérard Genette (1930–2018) acknowledged these and other functions when he identified four main purposes of literary epigraphs. According to Genette, epigraphs primarily work to provide context or commentary relating, first, to a work’s title or, second, to its textual contents. Third, authors use them not only to draw connections to other literary works but also to invoke the literary or cultural reputation of the referenced work’s author. In Genette’s view, poets and authors often do this to fortify their own writing with the contiguity of respected literary or cultural figures. Fourth, and finally, Genette interprets epigraphs as a tool authors use to curate their own positions in literary canons by implying peer relationships with cited writers.
With epigraphs becoming ubiquitous in contemporary English literature, some commentators have problematized them and characterized the literary device as lapsing into overuse. Literary critics note that poets and authors appear, at times, to use epigraphs to imbue their works with an elevated and accomplished character they may not otherwise have earned on their own merits. Other contemporary views position epigraphs as a method of establishing or continuing literary dialogues between a poem and the figures or works its epigraphs reference.
In 2008, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Sharon Olds (1942–) sparked a spirited literary conversation by using an epigraph in such a way. Olds opened her poem “Calvinist Parents,” contained in her collectionOne Secret Thing, with an excerpt from an unflattering review of her 2002 poetic work,The Unswept Room. Her creative use of epigraphy positioned the poem as a direct response to external commentary on her earlier work, imbuing it with a referential quality characterized by some observers as novel, innovative, and provocative.
Bibliography
Beckemeyer, Roy. “Theme and Variations—Epigraphs and Poems.” Whispering Prairie Press,22 Sept. 2016, wppress.org/theme-and-variations-epigraphs-and-poems/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
“Epigraph.” Academy of American Poets,2023, poets.org/glossary/epigraph. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
“Epigraph.” Poetry Foundation,2023, www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/epigraph. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
Genette, Gérard. Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation.Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Orr, David. “The Age of Citation.” The New York Times,17 Sept. 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/books/review/Orr-t.html. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
“What Is an Epigraph? Examples of Epigraphs from Literature.” MasterClass,8 Sept. 2021, www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-an-epigraph. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
Worthington, Jane. “The Epigraphs to the Poetry of T.S. Eliot.” American Literature,vol. 21, no. 1 (Mar. 1949): pp. 1–17.
Yamasaki, Parker. “Epigraph: Definition and Examples of This Literary Device.”Grammarly, 20 Jan. 2023, www.grammarly.com/blog/epigraph/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.