Table Of ContentThe Poetics
of Ekphrasis
A Stylistic Approach
Maria-Eirini Panagiotidou
The Poetics of Ekphrasis
Maria-Eirini Panagiotidou
The Poetics
of Ekphrasis
A Stylistic Approach
Maria-Eirini Panagiotidou
English Department
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
West Chester, PA, USA
ISBN 978-3-031-11312-3 ISBN 978-3-031-11313-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11313-0
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2022
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher,
whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation,
reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other
physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer
software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt
from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in
this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher
nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material
contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains
neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover illustration: Vladimir Lis/Alamy Stock Photo
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland
AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To my parents, Alkis and Zina
Preface
This project has been in the making for a number of years after a chance
encounter with W. D. Snodgrass’s poem “Matisse: The red studio”. Since
then, the ideas that formed this book were developed, elaborated, and
refined. A number of people assisted me in this process, and I would like
to thank them for their support.
I am grateful for the support of my colleagues at the English Depart-
ment of West Chester University of Pennsylvania. I would especially
like to thank Amy Anderson, Kristine Ervin, and Ashley Patriarca for
their invaluable support and friendship. Eleanor Shelvin has also been a
continuous source of encouragement and assistance. I would also like to
thank the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Dr. Jen Bacon, as
well as our associate dean, Dr. Hoyejin Yoon, for facilitating the produc-
tion of this work through a research grant. My graduate assistants Claire
Duncan and Veronica Fitton worked diligently to help me prepare the
chapters for publication. As this work was completed for the most part
during the COVID-19 pandemic, I am deeply indebted to the librar-
ians of West Chester University who responded to my numerous requests
vii
viii Preface
and remotely supplied me with much needed material in the most effi-
cient and timely manner. Their impeccable service made the completion
of this work possible. A bit further away from home, my Poetics and
Linguistics Association (PALA) colleagues have been another source of
inspiration; PALA has been open and welcoming to new ideas and has
created such a supportive academic environment for stylisticians. I am
particularly thankful to Anne Furlong for a very stimulating discussion
during our 2021 remote conference that helped me shape some impor-
tant ideas. At Palgrave Macmillan, I would like to thank my editor Cathy
Scott for her patience as I worked on the manuscript.
I would not have been able to complete this project without the
support and encouragement of my friends and family. I thank Evi,
Antonis, Pedro, Filipa, Andri, and Maria for many years of thoughtful
support and presence; Israel for all kinds of wise advice; and my cousin
Lina for her interest in my work. I am indebted to my grandma, aunts,
and uncles for their loving support, with special thanks to Panayota for
introducing me to the wonderful world of art. I am also grateful for my
sister’s and my parents’ unwavering love and generosity. Finally, words
cannot express my love and gratitude to Alejandro Satz for being such a
wonderful husband and father. He and our daughter Ariadne fill my life
with joy.
West Chester, USA Maria-Eirini Panagiotidou
Acknowledgements
Excerpts from “Edward Hopper and the House by the Railroad (1925)”
from Wild Gratitude by Edward Hirsch, copyright © 1981 by Edward
Hirsch. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf
Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House
LLC. All rights reserved.
Excerpts from “Brueghel’s Winter” from Memory, and Other Poems by
Walter de la Mare. Reprinted with permission of The Literary Trustees
of Walter de la Mare and the Society of Authors as their representative.
Excerpts from “Winter Landscape” from Collected Poems: 1937–1971
by John Berryman. Copyright © 1989 by Kate Donahue Berryman.
Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. All Rights
Reserved.
Excerpts from “Van Gogh: ‘The Starry Night’” from Not for Specialists:
New and Selected Poems by W. D. Snodgrass. Copyright © 1968, 2006
by W. D. Snodgrass. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions
Company, LLC on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., boaeditions.org.
ix
x Acknowledgements
Excerpts from “Edward Hopper Study: Hotel Room” from Circle
(Southern Illinois University Press, 2005) by Victoria Chang,. Copy-
right © 2005 by Victoria Chang. Reprinted with the permission of The
Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of the author, victoriachangpoet.
com.
Excerpts from “Paul Delvaux: The Village of the Mermaids.” by Lisel
Mueller. Lisel Mueller, Alive Together: New and Selected Poems, Louisiana
State University Press, 1996.
Excerpts from “Matisse: ‘The Red Studio’” and “Vuillard: ‘The
Mother and Sister of the Artist’” from After Experience: Poems and Trans-
lations (New York: Harper & Row, 1968) by W. D. Snodgrass. Copyright
© 1968 by W. D. Snodgrass. Reprinted with the permission of The
Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of the Estate of W. D. Snodgrass,
www.permissionscompany.com.
Excerpts from “Warm Night” and “Painting Madame Gautreau” from
Carnal World (2006) by Terri Witek. Reprinted with the permission of
the author.
“The Red Room” from White Morning © 1989 by Judith Berke.
Published by Wesleyan University Press and reprinted with permission.
Excerpts from “Nude Descending a Staircase” by X.J. Kennedy.
Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Excerpts from “Orange and Red on Red” by Henry Crawford.
Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Excerpts from Her Read by Jennifer Sperry Steinorth. Copyright ©
(2021 and Jennifer Sperry Steinorth). This material is used by permission
of TRP: The University Press of SHSU, texasreviewpress.org.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Motivations and Aims 1
1.2 Stylistics 4
1.3 Intermediality and Multimodality 7
1.4 Structure of the Book 9
1.5 Concluding Remarks 11
Bibliography 12
2 Ekphrasis: Past and Present 15
2.1 The Origins of Ekphrasis 15
2.2 The Reinvention of Ekphrasis in the Twentieth
Century 23
2.3 Twenty-First Century: Beyond the Paragone 28
2.4 Contemporary Ekphrasis: Beyond the Written Word 32
2.5 Ekphrasis and Stylistics 37
2.6 Concluding Remarks 40
Bibliography 40
xi
