Non-poetic epigrams

Occasionally, simple and witty statements, though not poetical, may also be considered epigrams, such as those attributed to Oscar Wilde: "I can resist everything except temptation." "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."

4) A quotation, also called a quote, is a fragment of a human expression, written or oral, which has been inserted into another human expression. This latter type of quotation is almost always taken from literature, though speech transcripts, film dialogues, and song lyrics are also common and valid sources.

E.g. The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, may be preserved by quotation (Isaac D'Israeli, Curiosities of Literature: Quotation).

A typical, and perhaps ideal, quotation is usually short, concise and commonly only one sentence long. There are two broad categories which most quotations fall into, beauty and truth, although some quotations fit equally well into both these groups. 'Beautiful' quotations are words remembered for their aesthetically pleasing use of language, whereas many other quotations are remembered because they are thought to express some universal truth. These latter quotations are often called maxims or aphorisms and they are highly regarded for being pithy renderings of ideas that most people have but most have not been able to express so clearly. A third type of quotation may be any line which merely reminds the person who quotes it of a particularly memorable work, sometimes making a subtle comparison to the situation or topic at hand.

Reasons for using quotations

Quotations are used for a variety of reasons: to enrich, illuminate the meaning or support the arguments of the work in which it is being quoted, to pay homage to the original work or author, to make the user of the quotation seem well-read and even to ridicule the original author.

Common quotation sources

Chiefly for reference and accuracy, famous quotations are frequently collected in books that are sometimes called quotation dictionaries or treasuries. On the other hand, diaries and calendars often include quotations for entertainment or inspirational purposes, and small, dedicated sections in newspapers and weekly magazines — with recent quotations by leading personalities on current topics — have also become commonplace. Finally, chiefly through the World Wide Web, the Internet has become the world's main quotation repository.

5) Allusion is a stylistic device in which one refers covertly or indirectly to an object or circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. It is left to the reader or hearer to make the connection (Fowler). In the most traditional sense, allusion is a literary term, though the word also has come to encompass indirect references to any source, including film, art, or real events.

Allusion is an economical device, a figure of speech that draws upon the ready stock of ideas or emotion already associated with a topic in a relatively short space. Thus, an allusion is understandable only to those with prior knowledge of the reference in question.

It stimulates ideas, associations, and extra information in the reader’s mind with only a word or two. It means “reference”. It relies on the reader being able to understand the allusion and being familiar with all of the meaning hidden behind the words.

The poetry of T.S. Eliot is often described as "allusive", because of his habit of referring to names, places or images that may only make sense in the light of prior knowledge. This technique can add to the experience, but for the uninitiated can make Eliot's work seem dense and hard to decipher.

Allusions in English are commonly made to the Bible, nursery rhymes, myths, famous fictional or historical characters or events, and Shakespeare. They can be used in prose and poetry.

E.g. Christy didn’t spend money. She as no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except the bare necessities.

The name Scrooge should bring to mind an image of someone who “pinches pennies” and hoards money with a passion. But the allusion only works if the reader is familiar with Charles Dickens’ story “A Christmas Charol”.