The Ancient Mariner seizes the guest at the wedding feast and will not let go until he has told all his story: the prototype of the bore.

Lovers always believe one another's sleight-of-hand tricks.

After rejection - misery, then thoughts of revenge, and finally, oh well, another try elsewhere.

Maxims are sharp-edged half-truths.

Literary criticism now is all pranks and polemics.

Wit: a whim followed by a wham.

Only death rescues us from dying.