The theory of
occasional poetry put forward in this essay distinguishes occasional poetry from
epideictic poetry on the basis that it differs from
personal and meditative
poems by its origin in a fact,
event, or state of affairs rather than in a mood or state of mind. Occasional poetry marks an event or ceremony and
speaks to an audience with shared social or cultural concerns. The hallmark of occasional poetry, unlike other epideictic poems, is that it speaks directly with a public rather than a personal voice.