aphorism


 * __Aphorism__**: a statement that is intended to be a wise observation on life as a principal or memorable statement. Aphorism used to be used to describe political statements, now it is used to describe moral statements. Aphorism functions to help characterize characters.


 * William Shakespeare’s __Hamlet__ (Act 1, Scene 1, around line 80):**

Dialogue of Polonius talking to Laertes before he goes off and travels to France //“Above all: to thine own self me true,// //And it must follow, as the night the day,// //Thou canst not then be false to any man.”//

This is an example of aphorism, because Polonius is giving a life lesson, or using an aphorism, when sending off his son to France. He describes the most important moral statement that he knows: to be true to yourself and to others. Polonius says this statement after a long winded speech about important lessons he appears to have learned throughout his life. It functions to be the last piece of advice he gives his son—it is a memorable statement. Finally, the statement functions, like aphorism to characterize the character (Polonius) through suggesting he is a verbose speaker and man who likes to think he knows everything. He uses the aphorism to his benefit to make himself sound wise to his son.


 * Robert Frost’s Mending Wall (lines 43-46):**

//“He will not go behind his father's saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."”//

“Good fences make good neighbors” is an example of aphorism because it too, is the parting line in a story, like the __Hamlet__ example. This example of aphorism shows how the statement about fences and neighbors is an important moral code that the two characters within the poem lives by. It is important enough to the men, because it brings them together every spring through the re-building of the wall, and also is a family tradition. It is a moral code, and a moral statement that functions to characterize the history of relationship between the two men and their families. Aphorism in this case, shows the relationship the men have always had; it functions as the background for the story.

By: Kaylee Sager