JOURNAL - This writing exercise will involve intensive, creative engagement with a work. Choose one of the below options and use it as the guideline for your response.
Option 1: Ekphrasis
Because of the equal emphasis it places on content and form, ekphrasis has been an exercise of rhetoric (the systematic study of oratory and written composition) since the ancient Greeks. Ekphrasis involves taking a work of art and "translating" it into another form. The most common type of ancient ekphrasis was the rendering of a painting into a poem. However, this is not the only type. In the modern world ekphrasis is perhaps most often seen in the context of cinema, since most films begin as novels, or at the very least written scripts. It is important to recognize that ekphrasis is not simply description, nor is it mere synopsis (though both of these elements are essential to it). Instead, an ekphrasis seeks to replicate both the essence and the effects of the original work in the new medium, so careful attention must be paid not only to what is said, but also to how one says it.
This prompt will involve two components: an ekphrasis and a justification for/explanation of that ekphrasis. First you will choose a visual work-a painting, sculpture, or even a work of architecture-from our textbook. You will then "translate" this piece into either poetry or prose form. Be sure to pick a writing style that allows you to convey the essential content, but also to capture its mood and feel.
Each ekphrasis will be followed by a 1-2 paragraph explanation for why you made the choices you did. How does your "translation" preserve the original? How did you replicate the original visual details in your words and style? What new understanding or interpretation does your ekphrasis bring to the original piece? Be sure that your explanation not only addresses the above issues, but is written in clear, grammatical English
Option 2: Interpolation Exercise
Insert yourself into one of the pieces (painting, photo, poem, short story) from our book-you can also choose an event. This can be done in a number of ways. You can put yourself in the position of some figure or element within the work; or you can envision yourself as being present within the piece, some kind of bystander. Get inside the reality of the work or event. Describe the piece from within, giving a catalog of detail, but detail as one would know it from inside the piece's own internal logic. Then talk about the work as if it were an event happening to you, and you are attempting to address the importance of the moment. Why are things the way they are? What, if anything, has caused this moment? What bigger issues does it raise? Remember to try to stick to the imaginative logic of the piece, but flesh it out with your own thoughts.
Craft is essential to this assignment. Sloppy writing/editing will affect your grade. In addition to issues such as clarity and composition (proper usage of grammar, etc.), the assignment will be assessed on how attentively the details of the original work are observed and replicated. The assignment will also be assessed according to its degree of focus and development of thought.