"She Should Have Brought A Book To Read": Contemporary Approaches to Ekphrasis

Abstract

What does ekphrasis look like in contemporary English-language poetry? Can poems that explicitly mention a work of art but do not employ detailed description as a means to achieve enargeia still be considered ekphrastic? If description is not the primary focus of an ekphrastic poem, how does the poem make the work of art present on the page? Do these poems introduce new ekphrastic methods, or do they in fact draw on previous traditions? In an attempt to answer these questions, this thesis examines poems from Self-Portrait with Crayon by Allison Benet White, The Eye Like a Strange Balloon by Mary Jo Bang, and Decreation by Anne Carson.