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Mime
Mime, in Ancient Rome a spoken form of popular, farcical drama which, unlike the fabula atellana and the silent acting of the pantomimus, was played without masks. Soon after the introduction of Greek drama to the Roman stage in the mid-3rd century BC the Floralia, or festival of Flora, was founded, and this became a favourite occasion for the performance of mimes, where licence even went so far as to sanction the appearance of mime-actresses naked on stage. The influence of mime on the development of Latin comedy must have been considerable; much of the jesting and buffoonery which Plautus introduced into his adaptations of Greek comedy would have been quite appropriate in the mime.
The mime differed from more conventional forms of drama by its preoccupation with character-drawing rather than plot. The distinctive costume of the mime-player was a hood or ricinium—whence the name fabula riciniata for a mime—which could be drawn over the head or thrown back, a patchwork jacket, tights, and the phallus; the head was shaven and the feet bare. The companies were small; Ovid speaks of a cast of three to take the roles of the foolish old husband, the erring wife, and the dandified lover. The plots were simple, the endings often abrupt. In the 1st century BC the mime achieved a precarious status as a literary form when fixed scripts for mime-players were written. The fragments of their works that survive show that they had much in common with the fabulae atellanae which the new mime-plays seem to have absorbed or replaced. But the popular mimes which all but drove other forms of spoken drama from the stage under the Roman Empire were largely impromptu, with dialogue in prose which the chief actor—the archimime— was free to cut or expand at will. The sordid themes and startling indecency of the language, judged by some later fragments which have survived, seem to be characteristic of the mime in general. Not only was adultery a stock theme, but the Emperor Heliogabalus appears to have ordered its realistic performance on stage, and if the plot included an execution it was possible, by substituting a condemned criminal for the actor, to give the spectators the thrill of seeing the execution actually take place. It is hardly surprising that however popular the actors were, socially they were beneath contempt. They countered the opposition of the Church by mocking Christian sacraments; but gradually the Church got the upper hand and in the 5th century succeeded in excommunicating all performers in mime. Yet the mime lived on. Its simple requirements could be supplied in any public place or private house, and in such settings it continued to entertain audiences who were now officially Christian. Though forced to drop its habit of burlesquing the sacraments, it still scandalized the Fathers of the Church by its indecency and the immorality of its performers. How far the mime survived the fall of Rome and the onslaught of the barbarians is doubtful. So simple a type of performance might arise independently at different ages and in different countries; yet precisely because of its primitive character it is hard to be sure that the classical mime ever became wholly extinct in Europe. The Middle Ages had their mime-players, who may have taken over from the mimi, those last representatives of classical drama, something of their traditions, and handed them on to their descendants in the modern world. |
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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Mime." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Mime." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Mime.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Mime." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Mime.html |
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mime
mime, in modern usage, a term used to describe a kind of theatrical performance without words, in which meaning is conveyed by gesture and movement. As an art form it flourishes more on the Continent, in the work of such performers and writer-performers as Marcel Marceau (1923– ) and Dario Fo (1926– ) than in England.
The earliest form of mimes were the dramatic scenes from middle-class life, realistic and often obscene, first composed in the 5th cent. bc by the Athenian Sophron. The only known surviving Greek mimes (by Theocritus and Herodas) date from two centuries later. Later still, in Rome, sketches of low life performed by several actors with masks and scenic effects became very popular. After an interlude in the Middle Ages, the genre flourished again in the 16th cent. with the commedia dell'arte, in which the actors relied mainly on dumb-show. Divertissements with music, dancing, and mime were also much in fashion from the Renaissance onwards and contributed to the development of ballet, opera, and the English pantomime. |
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "mime." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "mime." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-mime.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "mime." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-mime.html |
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mime
mime / mīm/ • n. 1. the theatrical technique of suggesting action, character, or emotion without words, using only gesture, expression, and movement. ∎ a theatrical performance or part of a performance using such a technique. ∎ an action or set of actions intended to convey the idea of another action or an idea or feeling: he performed a brief mime of someone fencing. ∎ a practitioner of mime or a performer in a mime. 2. (in ancient Greece and Rome) a simple farcical drama including mimicry. • v. [tr.] use gesture and movement without words in the acting of (a play or role). ∎ convey an impression of (an idea or feeling) by gesture and movement, without using words; mimic (an action or set of actions) in this way: he stands up and mimes throwing a spear. DERIVATIVES: mim·er n. |
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"mime." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mime." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mime005.html "mime." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mime005.html |
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mime
mime jester, buffoon; farcical drama of the Greeks and Romans. XVII. — L. mīmus — Gr. mîmos imitator, actor.
Hence vb. XVII. So mimeograph stencil device. XIX. irreg. f. Gr. mīméomai I imitate. mimetic pert. to imitation or mimicry. XVII. — Gr. mīmētikós. mimic pert. to a mime or buffoon; imitative; sb. burlesque performer; imitator XVI. — L. mīmicus — Gr. mīmikós. Hence mimic vb., mimicry XVII. |
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T. F. HOAD. "mime." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "mime." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mime1.html T. F. HOAD. "mime." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mime1.html |
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MIME
MIME / mīm; ˈem ˈī ˈem ˈē/ • n. Comput. a standard for formatting files of different types, such as text, graphics, or audio, so they can be sent over the Internet and seen or played by a Web browser or e-mail application. |
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"MIME." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "MIME." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mime.html "MIME." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-mime.html |
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MIME
MIME Acronym for multipurpose Internet messaging extensions. A system designed to support the encoding of information other than straightforward text, such as digitized audio or video signals, so as to allow the signals to be transferred as the contents of e-mail messages.
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JOHN DAINTITH. "MIME." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN DAINTITH. "MIME." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O11-MIME.html JOHN DAINTITH. "MIME." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O11-MIME.html |
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mime
mime In drama, the communication of mood, story and idea through the use of gestures, movements and facial expressions, without speech. It derives from Greek and Roman traditions.
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"mime." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mime." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-mime.html "mime." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-mime.html |
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mime
mime. Acting in dumb-show (or the actor in such) sometimes acc. by mus.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "mime." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "mime." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-mime.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "mime." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-mime.html |
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Mime
Mime. The Nibelung dwarf, brother of Alberich, who rears Siegfried in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Mime." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Mime." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-Mime.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Mime." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-Mime.html |
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mi
mi, me2 (mus.) third note of the scale in solmization. XVI. See UT.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "mi." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "mi." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mime.html T. F. HOAD. "mi." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mime.html |
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MIME
MIME See MULTIPURPOSE INTERNET MAIL EXTENSIONS.
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DARREL INCE. "MIME." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DARREL INCE. "MIME." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-MIME.html DARREL INCE. "MIME." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-MIME.html |
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mime
mime see pantomime . |
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"mime." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mime." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-mime.html "mime." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-mime.html |
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mime
mime •begrime, Chaim, chime, climb, clime, crime, dime, grime, half-time, I'm, lime, mime, mistime, part-time, prime, rhyme, rime, slime, sublime, thyme, time
•paradigm • Mannheim • Waldheim
•Sondheim • Trondheim
•Guggenheim • Anaheim • Durkheim
•quicklime • brooklime • birdlime
•pantomime • ragtime • pastime
•bedtime • airtime
•daytime, playtime
•teatime • mealtime • dreamtime
•meantime • peacetime • springtime
•anytime • maritime • flexitime
•lifetime • nighttime • wartime
•downtime • noontime • sometime
•one-time • lunchtime • summertime
•wintertime • enzyme
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"mime." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mime." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mime.html "mime." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mime.html |
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MIME
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FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "MIME." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "MIME." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-MIME.html FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH. "MIME." The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations. 1998. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O25-MIME.html |
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