Epigram

The epigram is a short, witty poem of satirical or jesting content, directed against a particular person, phenomenon, or vice, which ends with an unexpected sharp conclusion (a pointe). Originally (among the ancient Greeks) an epigram was any inscription on an object or monument; later, thanks to the Roman poet Marcus Valerius Martial, the genre took on a satirical character. The epigram demands laconism, aptness of word, and the effect of surprise. In Ukrainian literature, epigrams and satirical miniatures were written by Ivan Franko, and in the revival of the 1920s by Volodymyr Sosiura and Ostap Vyshnia (in the prose form of his 'smiles'). A master of the sharp satirical poem was also Volodymyr Samiilenko. Epigrammatic concision and wit are characteristic of the aphoristic poetry of Lina Kostenko.