“Language Cannot Do Everything”: Ekphrasis as a Strategy of Re-vision in Adrienne Rich’s Poetry
Keywords:
Adrienne Rich, ekphrasis, feminist poetry, visual art in literature, language and power, politics of the gazeAbstract
This article analyzes Adrienne Rich's use of ekphrasis, the verbal representation of visual art, as a literary strategy in her poetry from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s. The paper explores how Rich employs ekphrasis to challenge traditional gender roles and redefine the relationship between the poetic subject and the gazed object. The author contends that Rich's fascination with images stems from a desire to overcome the limitations of language, particularly its historical imprints and oppressive nature. This study examines Rich's engagement with visual art as a means to rewrite culture and test the boundaries of linguistic expression. The article demonstrates how Rich's ekphrasis serves both feminist and aesthetic ends, conveying her quest for a language capable of effecting change. Key findings highlight Rich's innovative approach to ekphrasis, which subverts the male-dominated tradition by reconfiguring the politics of the gaze.(The abstract and keywords were prepared retrospectively for indexing purposes using AI-assisted tools and editorial review, based on the original article. They did not appear in the original publication.)
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