What Is Ekphrasis?
Ekphrasis is a form of poetry focused more on content and less on form, functioning more like a genre than anything else. Ekphrasis is the Greek word for “description”. Ekphrasis poetry typically refers to poems written about visual art, from paintings to films and everything in between. Its purpose is to expand on a visual medium –writing about the emotional impact a piece of art has on a person and attempting to explore that using words instead of images. It can also function as complementary or speculative commentary.
How To Write Ekphrasis Poetry
- Choose a piece of visual art.
- Write about it
- That’s it!
4 responses to “Ekphrasis ”
[…] Ekphrasis poetry is a genre of poetry that deals with visual art. It is an exploration of visual art through language, attempting to evoke the same emotions in the reader as the artwork itself. It can also be used to expand on a work of art or explore deeper meanings as in John Keats’ “Ode to a Grecian Urn”. Ekphrasis poetry has been around since ancient times, with poets like Homer and Virgil writing about the sculptures of their day. […]
[…] Ekphrasis poetry is a genre of poetry that deals with visual art. It is an exploration of visual art through language, attempting to evoke the same emotions in the reader as the artwork itself. It can also be used to expand on a work of art or explore deeper meanings as in John Keats’ “Ode to a Grecian Urn”. Ekphrasis poetry has been around since ancient times, with poets like Homer and Virgil writing about the sculptures of their day. […]
[…] The form of the week was Ekphrasis. […]
[…] Take some inspiration from a song and write a tanaga about it. Impromptu ekphrasis […]