Explanation of Noun (Introduction to Literature): Imitation Theory
Imitationism was a 20th-century literary theory that advocated that literary works should imitate real society and life experiences and scenes as much as possible to portray characters and express the theme. Imitation theory believes that the main task of literary works is to allow readers to reflect and experience the real world through reading, rather than to convey fictional ideas through fictional stories. Under the guidance of the theory of imitation, they could create more realistic, vivid and profound literary works by digging into the details and experiences of real life. The rise of the theory of imitation had a profound impact on modern literary creation and also had an important impact on literary research. However, the theory of imitation has also been criticized. Some people think that this literary theory places too much emphasis on the imitation of real life and ignores the artistic and fictional nature of literary works. Therefore, the theory of imitation is still an active research field in the study of literature.
