Foucault's episteme changes across history. In poetry, it appears as the intellectual and philosophical context from which a poem emerges. A poem's themes, language, and assumptions reflect its episteme. Poets can also challenge the dominant episteme, pushing against the boundaries of what can be thought and said. This concept helps analyze poetry as a historical and philosophical document.

Episteme is a foundational concept in Michel Foucault's work, particularly in "The Order of Things." It refers to the underlying, unconscious structure of knowledge that determines what is considered true, scientific, and rational within a particular historical period. An episteme is not a set of ideas but the "conditions of possibility" for thought, the epistemological field that limits and shapes all discourse. Different historical periods have different epistemes; for example, the Renaissance episteme was based on resemblance, the Classical episteme on representation and classification, and the Modern episteme on man as a subject and object of knowledge. In poetry, the episteme of a given era influences its dominant themes, forms, and philosophical assumptions. A poet can reflect their episteme or, in a more radical way, push against its limits, potentially anticipating a future shift in knowledge.