Ekphrasis, Imagination and Persuasion in Ancient Rhetorical Theory and Practice
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A01=Ruth Webb
Achilles Tatios
Ad Herennium
Ancient Ekphrasis
Ancient Rhetorical Theory
Ancient Sense
Auctor Ad Herennium
Author_Ruth Webb
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Category=NHC
Epideictic Oratory
Epideictic Speeches
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Greek Rhetorical Theory
Imperial Oration
Institutio Oratoria
Koinos Topos
Malcolm Heath
Menander Rhetor
Orator's Arsenal
Orator’s Arsenal
Quintilian's Account
Quintilian's Discussion
Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria
Quintilian's Remark
Quintilian’s Account
Quintilian’s Discussion
Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria
Rhetorica Ad Herennium
Rhetorical Ekphrasis
Rhetorical Enargeia
Rhetorical Handbooks
Term Ekphrasis
Young Men
Product details
- ISBN 9780754661252
- Weight: 612g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 28 Apr 2009
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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This is a study of ekphrasis, the art of making listeners and readers 'see' in their imagination through words alone, as taught in ancient rhetorical schools and as used by Greek writers of the Imperial period (2nd-6th centuries CE). The author places the practice of ekphrasis within its cultural context, emphasizing the importance of the visual imagination in ancient responses to rhetoric, poetry and historiography. By linking the theoretical writings on ekphrasis with ancient theories of imagination, emotion and language, she brings out the persuasive and emotive function of vivid language in the literature of the period. This study also addresses the contrast between the ancient and the modern definitions of the term ekphrasis, underlining the different concepts of language, literature and reader response that distinguish the ancient from the modern approach. In order to explain the ancient understanding of ekphrasis and its place within the larger system of rhetorical training, the study includes a full analysis of the ancient technical sources (rhetorical handbooks, commentaries) which aims to make these accessible to non-specialists. The concluding chapter moves away from rhetorical theory to consider the problems and challenges involved in 'turning listeners into spectators' with a particular focus on the role of ekphrasis within ancient fiction. Attention is also paid to texts that lie at the intersection of the modern and ancient definitions of ekphrasis, such as Philostratos' Imagines and the many ekphraseis of buildings and monuments to be found in Late Antique literature.
Ruth Webb is Professor of Greek at the University of Lille, France.
