Question

Which statement best defines ekphrastic poetry?

A. Ekphrastic poetry recalls biographical details of famous painters.
B. Ekphrastic poetry offers rhyming criticism of modern artworks.
C. Ekphrastic poetry describes or pays tribute to a piece of visual art.
D. Ekphrastic poetry weaves a narrative to inspire future paintings.

Answer 1

C. Ekphrastic poetry describes or pays tribute to a piece of visual art

Step-by-step explanation:

The word ekphrastic comes from Greek and it literally means "description", or, more precisely "description of a work of art". It can refer to a scene of the play, painting, sculpture etc.

It also serves to perhaps expand our knowledge on the given work of art or to shed a different light on it or help us better understand it.

It is usually written from the perspective of a character from the scene or the painting but it can also be written from the perspective of an observer, in which case it depicts emotions this work of art evokes in him.

Examples of this poetry can be found in Greek poet Homer in "Odyssey" and "Iliad" but also in Honor Moorman's "Staring at the Night" (inspired by Van Gogh's fanous painting) or in John Keats's poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn".