It is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined. … One example is a painting of a sculpture: the painting is “telling the story of” the sculpture, and so becoming a storyteller, as well as a story (work of art) itself.

What is an example of ekphrasis?

Usually, ekphrastic poems are written about a painting, but they can also be based on a sculpture, an object, or even architecture. One of the earliest examples is in the Iliad, when Homer describes Achilles’ shield. Another famous example is John Keats’ poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”

What is ekphrasis in literature?

Basically, an ekphrasis is a literary description of art. Like other kinds of imagery, ekphrasis paints a picture with words.