Bin yılı aşkın bir geçmişi olan ekfrasis geleneği, günümüz şiirinde önemli bir yere sahiptir. Homeros'un îlyada'smda yer alan Aşil'in kalkanının betimlendiği ve ekfrasisin edebiyattaki ilk önemli kullanımı olduğu düşünülen bölümden günümüze, farklı edebî anlayışlar ve eğilimler içinde, ekfrasis geleneği birçok değişim geçirmiştir. Bir edebî kavram olarak ekfrasisin geçirdiği değişim, kullanıldığı edebî dönemlere göre çeşitlilik göstermekle beraber, kavramın yapısal ve teorik açılardan gelişmesine, ekfrasisin daha fazla şair tarafından kullanılmasına ve sonuç olarak ekfrastik ürünlerin sayısının artmasına neden olmuştur. Bugün İngilizce yazılan şiirlerde, özellikle de İngiliz şiirinde, neredeyse kendi başına bir edebî tür haline gelen ekfrasis, son iki yüzyıl içinde yaşadığı köklü değişimi 18. ve 19. yüzyıllarda yaşanan sosyo-kültürel gelişmelere borçludur. Bu gelişmelerden belki de en önemlisi İngiltere'de bu dönemde açılan müzelerdir. İtalya, Fransa ve Almanya gibi Avrupa ülkelerini takiben, İngiltere'de de müzecilik kavramı hızla gelişmiş ve popüler bir sosyal olgu haline gelmiştir. Müzeler, 18. yüzyılda hem toplumun üst kesimlerinden hem de sanatçılar ve koleksiyonculardan büyük ilgi görmeye başlamıştır. Buna paralel olarak kraliyet ailesinin ve hükümetin de destekleriyle müzecilik yaygınlaşmış ve kısa süre içinde İngiltere'de, özellikle de Londra ve çevresinde, birçok önemli müze hizmete açılmıştır. 1759'da açılan ingiltere Müzesi (The British Museum)'ni sırasıyla 1824 ve 1897'de halka açılan Milli Galeri (The National Gşdlery) ve Tate Galerisi (Tate Gallery) takip etmiştir. Müzelerin açılmasıyla halkın, dolayısıyla da şairlerin plastik sanat eserlerine olan ilgileri artmıştır. Bu yakın ilgi şairleri ekfrasisi daha farklı şekillerde kullanmaya teşvik etmiş, sonuç olarak da, eskiye oranla çok daha fazla sayıda ekfrastik şiir üretilmiştir. Müzeler sayesinde öncelikle görsel sanat eserleri farklı biçimlerde algılanmaya başlanmıştır. Bunun nedeni müzelerin, bu sanat eserlerini

Ekphrasis, a thousand-year old literary tradition, has a noteworthy place in today’s literature. From the depiction of the Shield of Achilles in Homer’s the Iliad, which is regarded as the first significant literary application of ekphrasis, to the present, ekphrasis has undergone numerous alterations through different literary conventions and tendencies. Despite varieties in different literary periods, the change ekphrasis went through as a literary concept has led the term to develop on structural and theoretical grounds while allowing more poets to get acquainted with ekphrasis and, eventually, increasing the number of ekphrastic compositions. Today, as an almost independent literary expression in poetry in English, particularly in British poetry, ekphrasis owes much to the socio-cultural developments that took place between the 18th and 19th centuries. Probably the most crucial development during this period is the opening of public museums. Following European countries like Italy, France and Germany, museums in England had rapidly developed and become a popular social phenomenon. Attracting upper classes, artists, and art collectors in the 18th century, museums had been at the centre of public attention. Parallel to this, museums had expanded with the contributions of the members of the royal family and the government and, in a short period of time, a number of important museums opened in England, especially in and around London. The British Museum, which opened its doors to visitors in 1759, was followed by the National Gallery and Tate Gallery that opened in 1824 and 1897, respectively. With the opening of museums, society, along with poets, showed more interest in works of plastic arts Ekphrasis, a thousand-year old literary tradition, has a noteworthy place in today’s literature. From the depiction of the Shield of Achilles in Homer’s the Iliad, which is regarded as the first significant literary application of ekphrasis, to the present, ekphrasis has undergone numerous alterations through different literary conventions and tendencies. Despite varieties in different literary periods, the change ekphrasis went through as a literary concept has led the term to develop on structural and theoretical grounds while allowing more poets to get acquainted with ekphrasis and, eventually, increasing the number of ekphrastic compositions. Today, as an almost independent literary expression in poetry in English, particularly in British poetry, ekphrasis owes much to the socio-cultural developments that took place between the 18th and 19th centuries. Probably the most crucial development during this period is the opening of public museums. Following European countries like Italy, France and Germany, museums in England had rapidly developed and become a popular social phenomenon. Attracting upper classes, artists, and art collectors in the 18th century, museums had been at the centre of public attention. Parallel to this, museums had expanded with the contributions of the members of the royal family and the government and, in a short period of time, a number of important museums opened in England, especially in and around London. The British Museum, which opened its doors to visitors in 1759, was followed by the National Gallery and Tate Gallery that opened in 1824 and 1897, respectively. With the opening of museums, society, along with poets, showed more interest in works of plastic artsEkphrasis, a thousand-year old literary tradition, has a noteworthy place in today’s literature. From the depiction of the Shield of Achilles in Homer’s the Iliad, which is regarded as the first significant literary application of ekphrasis, to the present, ekphrasis has undergone numerous alterations through different literary conventions and tendencies. Despite varieties in different literary periods, the change ekphrasis went through as a literary concept has led the term to develop on structural and theoretical grounds while allowing more poets to get acquainted with ekphrasis and, eventually, increasing the number of ekphrastic compositions. Today, as an almost independent literary expression in poetry in English, particularly in British poetry, ekphrasis owes much to the socio-cultural developments that took place between the 18th and 19th centuries. Probably the most crucial development during this period is the opening of public museums. Following European countries like Italy, France and Germany, museums in England had rapidly developed and become a popular social phenomenon. Attracting upper classes, artists, and art collectors in the 18th century, museums had been at the centre of public attention. Parallel to this, museums had expanded with the contributions of the members of the royal family and the government and, in a short period of time, a number of important museums opened in England, especially in and around London. The British Museum, which opened its doors to visitors in 1759, was followed by the National Gallery and Tate Gallery that opened in 1824 and 1897, respectively. With the opening of museums, society, along with poets, showed more interest in works of plastic arts The growing interest encouraged poets to adopt ekphrasis in distinctive ways in such a way as to outnumber previous ekphrastic works. Through professional maintenance services the museums provided protection for works of art against time’s corrosive effects which in turn altered the perception of visual arts to a great extent. This development brought an end to the idea that visual works of art are bound to decay. Moreover, opening of museums revitalized “immortality of art” notion, which is as old as ekphrasis itself, in a different way. Besides, the same reason added a new kind of artistic value to the artworks which had begun to be displayed under the bright, attractive atmosphere of the museums. Now, the works of visual arts th