Virgil's Epic Designs: Ekphrasis in the Aeneid

In his final masterpiece, the Aeneid, Virgil frequently uses ekphrasis-a self-contained aside, a pause to describe a work of art or other object. Virgil's ekphrases incorporate major themes of the epic, enrich the reader's understanding of its meaning, and provide metaphors for the entire poem, says Michael C. J. Putnam in this first comprehensive study of the ekphrases in the Aeneid.