The Importance of Using Epitaphs. Epitaphs provide those who have passed with a poetic or memorable inscription for those who visit the deceased to remember them by. For those who choose their own epitaphs, they are a way of sending one final and lasting message.

What does epitaph symbolize?

An epitaph (from Greek ἐπιτάφιος epitaphios "a funeral oration" from ἐπί epi "at, over" and τάφος taphos "tomb") is a short text honoring a deceased person. ... An epitaph may be written in prose or in poem verse; poets have been known to compose their own epitaphs prior to their death.

What is literary epitaph?

An epitaph (EP-ah-taf) is a short statement, often a poem or other brief written inscription, that commemorates or memorializes a deceased person.