In Year 9, we’ve been reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. We had a look at Aestheticism and more specifically at epigrams. I’m sure we’ve all heard of some of Oscar Wilde’s famous utterances: “I can resist everything except temptation”, “I have nothing to declare but my genius”- to name a few! We came up with five quick steps to try and figure out how Wilde came out with his amazing quotes.
The five stepigram
How to come up with an epigram:
- Pick a theme.
- Think about what most people think or say about that theme.
- Now think about something that is either the opposite of what most people think, or which is counter-intuitive.
- Combine the statements you wrote above.
- Edit by adding a metaphor or a rhetorical flourish.
Examples:
- Temptation.
- Most people think that you should resist temptation.
- Most people don’t normally think yielding to temptation helps you avoid it.
- To resist temptation you should yield to it.
- “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it” -Wilde.
- Beauty.
- Most people think that beauty is temporary.
- Most people would not normally think that beauty can last forever.
- True beauty lasts forever.
- “Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a possession for all eternity.” -Keats
The students produced some incredible epigrams which seemed written by renown authors. Have a read for yourself:
“There is nothing more whole than a broken person” – CS
“War is only peace’s foundation” – EP
“Weakness is the only way to rule the world” -SC
“Life is a question and you are the answer”.
Lastly, one teacher even had a crack.
“The gothic is only grotesque to those who refuse to see beauty” – Stephen Gale.