Epigram on Rough Roads

Epigram on Rough Roads - form Summary

Epigram with Moral Punch

This short epigram compresses a travel anecdote into a crisp moral observation. The speaker complains about rough, muddy roads and turns that irritation into a general judgment: people must "mend their ways" or face damnation. Its form—brief, pointed, and epigrammatic—delivers a single, witty moral thrust rather than a sustained narrative. The poem’s economy and rhymed couplets create a quick shift from complaint to moral verdict, using a casual domestic scene to make a blunt, didactic point.