Ekphrasis is figure of speech. It is a detailed description of a work of visual art. The work can be real or imaginary. Sometimes the language used in the ekphrasis is considered as art in itself. Homer's detailed description of the shield carried by the hero Achilles in his epic poem the "Iliad" is a very early example of the use of ekphrasis in literature. "The Shield of Achilles", a poem written by W. H. Auden in 1952, describes Auden's reaction to Homer's of ekphrasis.