Mimetic theory by m.h. abrams

A glossary of literary terms

Abrams , was an American literary critic, known for works on romanticism, in particular his book The Mirror and the Lamp. Under Abrams's editorship, The Norton Anthology of English Literature became the standard text for undergraduate survey courses across the U. He went into English because, he says, "there weren't jobs in any other profession He returned to Harvard for graduate school in and received a master's degree in and a Ph.

He describes his work as solving the problem of voice communications in a noisy military environment by establishing military codes that are highly audible and inventing selection tests for personnel who had a superior ability to recognize sound in a noisy background. In , Abrams became a professor at Cornell University.

Hirsch , and the novelists William H. Gass and Thomas Pynchon were among his students. His wife of 71 years, Ruth, predeceased him in Abrams offers evidence that until the Romantics, literature was typically understood as a mirror reflecting the real world in some kind of mimesis; whereas for the Romantics, writing was more like a lamp: the light of the writer's inner soul spilled out to illuminate the world.

Abrams was the general editor of The Norton Anthology , and the editor of The Romantic Period — in that anthology, [ 16 ] and he evaluated writers and their reputations.

Howard abrams actor

In his introduction to Lord Byron , he emphasized how Byronism relates to Nietzsche 's idea of the superman. Literary theories, Abrams argues, can be divided into four main groups: [ 19 ]. Morepedia Support more. American literary theorist — Long Branch , New Jersey, U.