What Does Mimesis Mean?

Mimesis is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including imitatio, imitation, nonsensuous similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, the act of resembling, and the presentation of the self.

What are examples of mimesis?

In literature, authors and playwrights use vocal mimesis by endowing a character with the accent, inflection, and other speech patterns of someone of a certain region or socioeconomic level. A good example of vocal mimesis is in the classic play, Desire under the Elms by Eugene O'Neill.

What do we mean by mimesis?

Mimesis, basic theoretical principle in the creation of art. The word is Greek and means “imitation” (though in the sense of “re-presentation” rather than of “copying”). ... Aristotle, speaking of tragedy, stressed the point that it was an “imitation of an action”—that of a man falling from a higher to a lower estate.