ekphrasis /ˈɛkfɹəsɪs/ noun1 •(rhetoric) A clear, intense, self-contained argument or verbal description of an object, especially of an artwork.One [trope] is ekphrasis, the literary description of a work of art, the most famous example of which may be the careful depiction of the shield of Achilles in book 18 of the Iliad. — 2004 formsekphrases