There are many ways in which criticism may be classified. Mimetic criticism emphasizes a works relationship to the world it depicts, and judges its quality in terms of its verisimilitude, the fidelity of its imitation, or the reflection of the world and life. In comparative studies of chinese and western poetics, however, there exists a widely accepted opinion that mimetic theory is. Mimetic theory is the namesake for my consulting company mimetic arbitrage llc.
An outsider in every field, rene girard has changed scholars thinking in literature, anthropology, and religion. The econtent uploaded on this website is on literary theory and criticism. The palgrave handbook of mimetic theory and religion. The mimetic theory of literary criticism places primary importance on how well a literary work imitates life. Introduction to literatureintroduction to literature. Platos theory of mimesis and aristotles defence in his theory of mimesis, plato says that all art is mimetic by nature. If youd like to learn more about how mimetic theory impacts the world around us, check out discipleship seminars in mimetic theory for information on scheduling a seminar. His gift of seeing resemblances is nothing other than a rudiment of the powerful compulsion in former times to become and behave like something else. Since plato applied the mimetic theory on literature and separated it from narrative, mimesis has been. Before the term was used by the philosopher aristotle in his poetics, this greek word identified a process of imitation or. Less well documented is the great importance of mimetic theories of literature, theater, and the visual arts during the renaissance and the enlightenment. Platos theory of mimesis and aristotles defence literary. Mimetic theorys key insight is that human desire is not an autonomous process, but a collective one. According to plato, all artistic creation is a form of.
One of the marks of genius is to notice something vitally important and seemingly obvious but which never before had been. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. A theory of everything a summary of rene girards mimetic. Mimetic theory of literary criticism pen and the pad. Mimetic literary criticism by lorena ruelas on prezi. The highest capacity for producing similarities, however, is mans. Rene girards mimetic theory studies in violence, mimesis. Rene girards mimetic theory began with an understanding about desire and blossomed into a grand theory of human relations. As eating isnt any longer confined to an taking that is agential of meals through the mouth, boundaries of outside and inside are reconfigured. Clear, comprehensive, analytically acute, this volume shows palaver to be a worthy successor to his austrian colleague, raymund schwager, as girards interpreter and collaborator.
Bibliography of literature on the mimetic theory vol. He has written from the perspective of a wide variety of disciplines. There are some major critical theories such as mimetic, pragmatic, expressive, and objective. Mimetic literary criticism by carina sotelo on prezi. Imitation is constant, scapegoating is an everpresent temptation, and violence is wrong. All literature stems from the mimetic theory developed during the golden age of greece by plato and aristotle. Mimesis, basic theoretical principle in the creation of art. In practice, mimetic critical theory often asks how well the literary work conveys universal truths and teaches the reader positive. Mimetic theories constitute a mainstream in western aesthetics. Professor of comparative literature, born in france but living and working in the united states, he analyses the novelistic masterpieces in which he perceives the problem of the desire in a different way. The first category of mimetic theories forms the oldest and is, according to abrams, the most primitive of the four categories. The mimetic theories judge a literary work of art in terms of imitation. Mimesis, or imitation imitatio, was a widely used rhetorical tool in antiquity up until the 18th centurys romantic emphasis on originality. Plato and aristotle while literary theory, as a school of thought or mode of literary criticism, is very much a product of the mid to late 20th century academic world, the first recorded theories of literature extend back to the ancient greek philosophers plato and aristotle.
It will be helpful to revisit these movements in more detail, beginning with desire. Mimesis criticism is a method of interpreting texts in relation to their literary or cultural models. Objective theoryobjective theory literature is an autonomous object literature is selfliterature is selfcontained entitycontained entity lit t i lfliterature is a selfsurpasssurpassi titing entity literature should be isolated from other external elements 2282011 intro. As eating isnt any longer confined to an taking that is agential of meals through the mouth, boundaries of outside and.
Based on the insights of great novelists and dramatists cervantes, shakespeare, stendhal, proust, and dostoevsky girard realized that human desire is not a linear process, as often thought. This is the earliest way of judging any work of art in relation to reality whether the representation is accurate verisimilitude or not. Although not all art is or purports to be mimetic, the very concept of art is inconceivable without a theory of mimesis. Mimetic theory is important because it allows us to think clearly and honestly about the greatest threat to human survival. Nov 10, 2015 mimetic theory, which girard first hit upon teaching french literature and reading the great novelists psychological analysis of their characters, is the idea that our desires are imitative. Mimesis by gunter gebauer, christoph wulf paperback. It offers the best available analysis of the causes of conflict, the contagion of violence, and the pervasive use of scapegoating by. Mimesis criticism looks to identify intertextual relationships between two texts that go beyond simple echoes, allusions, citations, or redactions. Start studying literary theory and criticism mimetic theory. The target learners are graduate and postgraduate students.
Mimetic theory is an attempt to explain humanitys tendency toward violence and the social mechanisms we use to preserve society. Mimesis is one of the most fundamental ideas in western poetics. Mimetic theory is a concept developed and advocated for by rene girard, 20thcentury french anthropologist. Mimetic theories are associated with classical and neoclassical criticism, and particularly with philosophers plato and aristotle. If you want to learn more about this theory, and why it is so important for understanding life, scripture, and ourselves, below is a video i recorded about all of this last year. Platos theory of mimesis and aristotles defence literary theory and criticism. The popup is set to stop once cookies are in place. In summary, we can say that mimetic theory consists of three interconnected movements. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Thesis statement mimetic literary criticism is unique and has been used in a variety of commentaries to help expose how the real world works. Literature is not the exact reproduction of life in all its totality. Mimetic theory was developed by rene girard through his studies in multiple disciplines, including mythology, anthropology, and history. In his theory of mimesis, plato says that all art is mimetic by nature. Literary theory and criticism mimetic theory flashcards.
Plato and aristotle spoke of mimesis as the representation of nature. Introduction the mimetic theories judge a literary work of art in terms of imitation. Apr 25, 2017 my two recent books have referenced rene girards mimetic theory. But you dont have to be a scholar or an insider of mimetic theory to understand it. Rene girards mimetic theory by wolfgang palaver books on. Mimetic criticism that is literary important in literature as it links art, literature, with mankind and assists the reader link utilizing the commentary itself. Xxxv by dietmar regensburger, university of innsbruck published in. Jul 26, 20 in his theory of mimesis, plato says that all art is mimetic by nature. In comparative studies of chinese and western poetics, however, there exists a widely accepted opinion that mimetic theory is a cultural invention unique to the western tradition. Four basic paradigms in the literature on sociological theory are identified and briefly described in.
Based on the insights of great novelists and dramatists cervantes, shakespeare, stendhal, proust, and dostoevsky girard realized that human desire is not a linear process, as often thought, whereby a person autonomously desires an inherently desirable. With its rich academic and institutional resources in literature and the arts, the lmu and its local partner institutions are ideally suited for the. A critical overview of literary criticism in english literature. Although he rarely calls himself a philosopher, many philosophical implications can be derived from his work.
The word mimetic comes from the greek word mimesis, the act of imitation. Mimetic theory originated with rene girard, a french polymath whose seminal insights into the nature of human desire bridges diverse fields such as anthropology, literary criticism, religious studies, psychology, ethnology, sociology, philosophy, and others. What is most fascinating in girards mimetic theory is its broad and bold scope. Platos republic, books iii and x and aristotles poetics. Mimesis, or imitation, as he referred to it, was a crucial concept for samuel taylor coleridges theory of the imagination. Mimesis, the notion that art imitates reality, has long been recognized as one of the central ideas of western aesthetics and has been most frequently associated with aristotle. Mimetic theories are associated with classical and neoclassical criticism, and particularly with philosophers plato and. Literary criticism, psychology, anthropology, sociology, history, biblical hermeneutics and theology. Plato and aristotle while literary theory, as a school of thought or mode of literary criticism, is very much a product of the mid to late 20th century academic world, the first recorded theories of literature extend back to the. Using these mental models, i have developed a proprietary. If you get this popup more than once after november 27, allow cookies for this site. Art imitates idea and so it is imitation of reality. Many authors use this technique in their writings to help define the true meaning of humanity and life itself.
Then the indication of the word literary criticism along with the origin and development of literary criticism has to be examined. Coleridge begins his thoughts on imitation and poetry from plato, aristotle, and philip sidney, adopting their concept of imitation of nature instead of other writers. Books applying mimetic theory in nontheological areas. The word is greek and means imitation though in the sense of representation rather than of copying. Pdf bibliography of literature on the mimetic theory vol. From that base comes the pragmatic and expressive theory. Pdf a critical overview of literary criticism in english. A systematic introduction into the mimetic theory of the frenchamerican literary theorist and philosophical anthropologist rene girard, this essential text explains its three main pillars mimetic desire, the scapegoat mechanism, and the biblical difference with the help of examples from literature and philosophy. For this purpose, all these theories treat a work of art as photographic reproduction i. Jun, 2017 mimetic theory comes from the greek word mimesis, which means imitation and representation, and it states that people are influenced by each other and the world around them, when creating, in many different ways. Mimetic theory s key insight is that human desire is not an autonomous process, but a collective one.