MISE EN ABYME

PRONUNCIATION: (mee-zan-nah-BEEM)

MEANING: noun: Self-reflection in a literary work, a work of art, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: From French mise en abyme/abîme (placed into abyss). Originally, the term applied to heraldic shields in which a smaller shield was put into the center of the shield. Earliest documented use: 1968.

NOTES: Some examples are play within a play (Hamlet), story within a story, film within a film, dream within a dream, the placement of a small copy of a work within itself, infinite reflection between two facing mirrors, etc.
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MISE EN ABYSME - thrown into the depths and abandoned (see "a pit in Dothan")

MUSE EN ABYME - Melpomeme, who was in charge of Tragic Poetry

MA SEEN A "BY-ME" - My mother watched her card-playing friends Pass. And she doesn't use very good grammar, either.