'Vinek z kopriv a bodlaci': An epigram of the Czech National Revival (19th century)

Czech epigrams in the first half of the nineteenth century were written under the powerful influence of foreign, mainly Latin and German, models. The first Revivalist attempts, in particular, were a non-confrontational imitation of model texts; in light humour, even sarcastic joking, they mocked common topics within a pre-established radius. With the repeated depiction of negative human traits, certain professions, or established social conventions, moralizing entered the Czech epigrams of the National Revival, while the elements of surprise and clever punch-lines, which constitute the basis of Lessing's conception of the epigram, completely vanished. The underdeveloped literary milieu, as well as the influence of the censor, prevented the writing of poems that were satirically aimed at specific social phenomena of the period. In the Bohemian Lands, the highly valued genre thus turned for a while into the non-committal concise jocular poem.