14. The Stylistic Devices: The Epigram; The Allusion

An epigram is a stylistic device akin to a proverb, the only difference being that epigrams are coined by individuals whose names we know, while proverbs are the coinage of the people.

Epigrams are terse, witty, pointed statements, showing the ingenious turn of mind of the originator. They always have a literary-bookish air about them that distinguishes them from proverbs. Epigrams possess a great degree of independence and therefore, if taken out of the context, will retain the wholeness of the idea they express. They have a generalizing function.

Epigrams are often confused with aphorisms and paradoxes. It is difficult to draw a demarcation line between them, the distinction being very subtle. Real epigrams are true to fact and that is why they win general recognition and acceptance.

Writers who seek aesthetic precision use the epigram abundantly; others use it to characterize the hero of their work. Somerset Maugham is particularly fond of it and many of his novels and stories abound in epigrams. Here are some of them:

«He that bends shall be made straight».

«Failure is the foundation of success and success is the lurking place of failure».

«Mighty is he who conquers himself».

Worth citing is the epigram made by John F. Kennedy:

«If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich».

There are special dictionaries which are called «Dictionaries of Quotations». These in fact, are mostly dictionaries of epigrams. What is worth quoting must always contain some degree of the generalizing quality. That is why the works of Shakespeare, Pope, Byron and many other great English poets are said to be full of epigrammatic statements.

Allusions

An allusion is an indirect reference, by word or phrase, to a historical, literary, mythological, biblical fact or to a fact of everyday life made in the course of speaking or writing. The use of allusion presupposes knowledge of the fact, thing or person alluded to on the part of the reader or listener. As a rule no indication of the source is given. This is one of the notable differences between quotation and allusion.

Allusions are used in different styles, but their function is everywhere the same.

The deciphering of an allusion, is not always easy. In newspaper headlines allusions may be decoded at first glance as, for instance:«Pie in the sky for Railmen».

Most people in the USA and Britain know the refrain of the workers’ song: «You’ll get pie in the sky when you die».

The use of part of the sentence-refrain implies that the railmen had been given many promises but nothing at the present moment. Linguistically the allusion ‘pie in the sky’ assumes a new meaning, viz., nothing but promises. Through frequent repetition it may enter into the word stock of the English language as a figurative synonym.

V. Practical tasks

Identify the figures of speech used in the following sentences, stating them to belong to expressive means or stylistic devices:

He said: «I thought I’d come up to have a word with you, father» (A. Cronin).

They had loved her, and she had loved them (E. Caldwell).

He slipped into the familiar lie he made his bread and butter by (E. Hemingway).

Meanwhile he floated round Europe on a very small allowance – his faher wasn’t rich in capital – and was being an artist (D. H. Lawrence).

I married early and was happy to find in my wife a disposition not uncongenial with my own. (E. A. Poe)