Dionysian ''imitatio'' is the influential literary method of imitation as formulated by Greek author

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus (, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime. ...

in the first century BCE, which conceived it as the

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

al practice of emulating, adapting, reworking and enriching a source text by an earlier author. It is a departure from the concept of

mimesis Mimesis (; , ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including '' imitatio'', imitation, similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, the act of ...

which only is concerned with "imitation of nature" instead of the "imitation of other authors."

History

Three centuries after Aristotle's ''Poetics'', from the 4th century BCE to the 1st century BCE, the meaning of ''mimesis'' as a literary method had shifted from "imitation of nature" to "imitation of other authors". No historical record is left to explain the reason of this change. Dionysius' three volume work ''On mimesis'' (''On imitation''), which was the most influential for Latin authors, is lost. Most of it contained advice on how to identify the most suitable writers to imitate and the best way to imitate them.Ruthven (1979) pp. 103–4 For Dionysian ''imitatio'', the object of imitation was not a single author but the qualities of many.West (1979) pp.5–8 Latin orators and rhetoricians adopted the literary method of Dionysius' ''imitatio'' and discarded Aristotle's ''mimesis''; the imitation literary approach is closely linked with the widespread observation that "everything has been said already", which was also stated by Egyptian scribes around 2000 BCE. The ideal aim of this approach to literature was not

originality Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion ...

, but to surpass the predecessor by improving their writings and set the bar to a higher level. A prominent Latin follower of Dionysius was

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...

, who shared with him the view of ''imitatio'' as the practice that leads to an historical progress of literature over time. Both Dionysius and Quintilian discuss ''imitation'' exclusively from the point of view of rhetoric. In Quintilian, and in classical rhetoric in general, rhetoric drew much attention to the process of imitatio; the four operations of quadripartita ratio that organize all the

figures of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, etc.). In the ...

, defined as a "ready-made framework" of "relatively mechanical procedures" for the emulation, adaptation, reworking and enrichment of a source text by an earlier author.Jansen (2008), quote from the summary: This view of rhetoric was taken by

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

in '' De Copia Rerum''.

Mimesis

Dionysius' concept marked a significant departure from the concept of ''

'' formulated by

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

in the 4th century BCE, which was only concerned with "imitation of nature" instead of the "imitation of other authors." Latin orators and rhetoricians adopted the literary method of Dionysius' ''imitatio'' and discarded Aristotle's ''mimesis''. In

's '' Poetics'', lyric poetry,

epic poetry In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard t ...

, drama, dancing, painting are all described as forms of

Notes

References

*Jansen, Jeroen (2008) ''Imitatio''
Summary
translated to English by Kristine Steenbergh. *Ruthven, K. K. (1979
''Critical assumptions''
*West, David Alexander and Woodman, Anthony John and Woodman, Tony (1979
''Creative imitation and Latin literature''
{{Appropriation in the Arts Concepts in ancient Greek aesthetics Muses (mythology) Poetics Plot (narrative) Narratology Narrative techniques Literary criticism Literary theory Figures of speech