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Chapter 4 - Motion Images in Ecphrases

from III - Complex Cinematism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2024

Martin M. Winkler
Affiliation:
George Mason University, Virginia
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Summary

Building on the concept of enargeia, Chapter 4 examines the cinematism of epic ecphrases: passages containing detailed descriptions of remarkable objects. To the ancients, Homer’s vividness of presentation put him in the forefront of painters, while film directors, chiefly Eisenstein, have repeatedly referred to him as a precursor. In particular, the stories told on the shield of Achilles in the Iliad validate Eisenstein’s concept. Eisenstein wrote extensively about Lessing’s thesis, advanced in his influential Laocoön, about the limits of painting and poetry; both authors’ approaches are evaluated here, with Eisenstein’s argument proven the stronger one. The story of Theseus and Ariadne depicted on the coverlet in Catullus’ poem 64, the most complex ecphrasis in classical literature, is then treated as the basis of a film adaptation, which reveals the astonishing sophistication that can be discovered from the perspective of cinematism. Shorter observations about Virgil and, in passing, Juvenal round out this chapter.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Motion Images in Ecphrases
  • Martin M. Winkler, George Mason University, Virginia
  • Book: Classical Antiquity and the Cinematic Imagination
  • Online publication: 15 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009396691.008
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  • Motion Images in Ecphrases
  • Martin M. Winkler, George Mason University, Virginia
  • Book: Classical Antiquity and the Cinematic Imagination
  • Online publication: 15 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009396691.008
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Motion Images in Ecphrases
  • Martin M. Winkler, George Mason University, Virginia
  • Book: Classical Antiquity and the Cinematic Imagination
  • Online publication: 15 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009396691.008
Available formats
×