Mimesis is the representation of life, action, speech, or experience in poetry and other art. Rather than inventing a completely separate world, a mimetic poem reflects people, events, or feelings in a way readers can recognize as connected to reality, even when the language is stylized or imaginative.
Poets use mimesis to make a poem feel truthful, believable, or observant, whether they are describing ordinary behavior, dramatic conflict, or the details of a place.
Example
The kettle hissed before dawn
while my father stood at the sink,
watching the slow bright window
fill with winter light.
[n] the imitative representation of nature and human behavior in art and literature
[n] the representation of another person's words in a speech
[n] any disease that shows symptoms characteristic of another disease