The Importance Of Mimesis In Literature

Mimesis or “imitation” is the root of every piece of literature or art. It is the most natural human instinct to observe and imitate. It is the way we learn. Now in the literary context, mimesis signifies imitation in the sense of “representation” of the real world through the medium of words. According to M. H. Abrams, “Mimetic criticism views the literary work as an imitation, or reflection, or representation of the world and human life, and the primary criterion applied to a work is the ‘truth’ and ‘adequacy’ of its representation to the matter that it represents, or should represent.” Over the centuries, there have been several mimetic theorists. The tradition began with Plato and continued till the 18th century, when emphasis on originality became more dominant. Each of the critics offered different views on the importance of mimesis in literature. Plato: In order to understand the views of Plato, it is necessary to know something about the literary background. The literature of that period was in a state of decline; the golden age of Greek literature was a period of the past. The creative impulse had dried up. Literature had become immoral, corrupt and of low level. The decadent poetry of the day aroused hostile criticism instead of attracting readers. Plato’s attack on poetry came as substantiation of his view that philosophers were superior and of greater significance than poets. At the onset, however, one must take note of the fact that Plato was not ignorant of