Epigram: Coleridge was a very famous English poet, theologian, literary critic, and philosopher in the Victorian Era.
That every poet is a fool,
But you yourself may serve to show it,
That every fool is not a poet.
Epigram Review
When I first came across this poem, I read it once and then twice before asking each of my family members to give it a reading! This piece had amused me and still continues to do so, given the beautiful and appropriate use of sarcasm.
To explain what this poem really stands for is a difficult task. Although it is only four lines long, it is really ocean deep when we talk of concept.
This piece includes the pathos of poets and prominently underlines the disrespect that they have had to face (they still do in certain cases). Behind the carefully crafted words that sound witty to the readers and comic, too, lies a sad reality that perpetuates through ages.
Coleridge, a stalwart, had penned these words probably with a lot of anger, either caused by some real-life experience with a so-called “fool” or by close observation of many such situations where a person had dared to comment on poets and their works.
Epigram by Samuel Coleridge
It is to be understood that poetry is a form of art most regarded by gentlemen and ladies of all eras. Poetry transcends all barriers of race, culture, religion, economic or political backgrounds. To understand poetry is to understand art.
One who lacks the capability of appreciating a form of art might call all poets fools. However, the poet here makes it very clear that all fools are certainly not poets! And that is a very important inference to have been drawn!
More Info On- Great Man by Samuel Coleridge, Faded Flower by Samuel Coleridge