ekphrasis

American  

[ek-fruh-sis] / ˈɛk frə sɪs /

Or ecphrasis

noun

plural

ekphrases, ecphrases

1. a literary device consisting of a vivid, detailed description of a visual work of art.

   John Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a classic example of ekphrasis.

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Other Word Forms

• ecphrastic adjective
• ekphrastic adjective

Etymology

Origin of ekphrasis

First recorded in 1630–40; from Greek: “description,” from ekphrá(zein) “to describe” (from ek- ec- ( def. ) + phrázein “to speak”) + -sis -sis ( def. ); see phrase ( def. )

Explanation

Ekphrasis is a technique of writing about a work of visual art in great detail, as when a writer includes a vivid description of a painting in her novel. Ekphrasis is a literary device, a description of art which is so expressive that your reader can imagine it in detail. John Keats' famous "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is one well-known ekphrasis, a detailed reflection on a specific work of art. Ekphrasis can also be spoken or take other artistic forms — for example, your painting of a sculpture is also an ekphrasis, as is the song you wrote describing Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Example Sentences

Most of Schwartz’s protagonists are artists — poets, painters, novelists, actresses — and, fittingly then, many of the novel’s most elegant moments consist of ekphrasis, the representation of a work of art within another artwork.

From Washington Post • Mar. 1, 2023

The performance was a kind of call and response, or ekphrasis, with lyrics and chords inspired by Lethem's prose.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2018

Lucas started what he calls the ekphrasis series of small soft-covered volumes of art writings, both historical and new.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2018

Take the classic example of ekphrasis: the description of Achilles’ shield in the Iliad.

From The New Yorker • May 27, 2016

D. Khristodorou poietou Thebaiou ekphrasis ton agalmaton ton eis to       demosion gumnasion tou epikaloumenou Zeuxippou.

From Select Epigrams from the Greek Anthology by Mackail, J. W. (John William)