mimesis
\mi-MEE-sis\
noun
1. Rhetoric. imitation or reproduction of the supposed words of another, as in order to represent his or her character.
2. a. imitation of the real world, as by re-creating instances of human action and events or portraying objects found in nature: This movie is a mimesis of historical events. b. the showing of a story, as by dialogue and enactment of events.
Quotes
From Aristotle to Auerbach, it has been recognised that this involves far more than a mere mirroring of reality. When Aristotle defines mimesis in his Poetics as the 'imitation of an action', he means a creative redescription of the world such that hidden patterns and hitherto unexplored meanings can unfold.
-- Richard Kearney, On Stories, 2002
Origin
Mimesis entered English in the 1500s from the Greek word mīmēsis meaning "imitation."
Dictionary.com
