ekphrasis
Sign in to saveEkphrasis or ecphrasis (from the Greek) is a rhetorical device indicating the written description of a work of art. It is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined. Thus, "an ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art." In ancient times, it might refer more broadly to a description of any thing, person, or experience. The word comes from the Greek ' and ', 'out' and 'speak' respectively, and the verb '''', 'to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name'.
~24 min read
Article
16 sectionsContents
- History
- Genre
- In literature
- Ekphrastic poetry
- In, or as, art history
- In ancient literature
- Greek literature
- ''The Iliad''
- ''The Odyssey''
- ''The Argonautica''
- Roman literature
- ''The Aeneid''
- ''The Metamorphoses''
- See also
- References
- External links
Ekphrasis or ecphrasis (from the Greek) is a rhetorical device indicating the written description of a work of art. It is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined. Thus, "an ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art." In ancient times, it might refer more broadly to a description of any thing, person, or experience. The word comes from the Greek ' and ', 'out' and 'speak' respectively, and the verb '''', 'to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name'.
The works of art described or evoked may be real or imagined; and this may be difficult to discern. Ancient ekphrastic writing can be useful evidence for art historians, especially for paintings, as virtually no original Greco-Roman examples survive.