mime

mime:

see pantomime.

Mime

 

(1) A special form of classical folk theater and a comic genre of classical drama: short, improvised satirical scenes from daily life.

Mime arose in the fifth century B.C. It received its first literary treatment in the works of the poet Sophron and his son, Xenarchus. During the Hellenistic age (fourth and third centuries B.C.), mime spread to the Middle East; in the first century B.C. it appeared in Rome, where its greatest exponents were Decimus Laberius and Publilius Syrus. By that time the themes, structure, and presentation of mime performances had become more complex. Mime presented portraits of typical contemporary characters: slaves, procuresses, and hetaerae. Verse alternated with prose; there was also vocal mime, which included dancing. Actors played without masks, and, in contrast to other forms of classical theater, women also participated.

In 691, the Turulian Council prohibited mime as a sinful spectacle. Certain elements of mime were used in medieval French farces and in the Italian commedia dell’arte. Mime texts have survived only in fragmentary form.

(2) An actor or actress who performs mime. Mimes and their art were described by classical authors. There are a sizable number of depictions of mimes in vase painting. The Greek writer Athenaeus provided the names of the well-known mimes Noemon, Eudicus, Matrius, and Cephisodorus.

In the modern theater, pantomime actors are sometimes called mimes, for example, M. Marceau (France) and A. A. Elizarov (USSR).

REFERENCES

Varneke, B. V. Aktery Drevnei GretsiL Odessa, 1919.
Tronskii, I. M. Istoriia antichnoi literatury, 3rd ed. Leningrad, 1957.

MIME

[mīm]

(computer science)

The Multimedia Internet Mail Enhancements standard, describing a way of encoding binary files, such as pictures, videos, sounds, and executable files, within a normal text message in an operating-system-independent manner.

Mime

tries to poison Siegfried and get Nibelung treasure. [Ger. Opera: Wagner, Siegfried, Westerman, 241]

See: Villainy

mime

1. the theatrical technique of expressing an idea or mood or portraying a character entirely by gesture and bodily movement without the use of words

2. a performer specializing in such a technique, esp a comic actor

3. a dramatic presentation using such a technique

4. in the classical theatre

a. a comic performance depending for effect largely on exaggerated gesture and physical action

b. an actor in such a performance

MIME

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

MIME

(Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) The most common method for transmitting non-text files via Internet email, which was originally designed for only ASCII text. Defined by IETF RFC 2822, MIME encodes the files using one of two encoding methods and decodes it back to its original format at the receiving end. A MIME header is added to the file which includes the type of data contained and the encoding method used. The MIME "type" (renamed "Internet media type") has become the de facto standard for describing files on the Internet (see Internet media type).

S/MIME (Secure MIME), defined by IETF RFCs 3850-3852 and 2634, is a version of MIME that adds RSA encryption for secure transmission. See base64, quoted printable encoding, UUcoding, BinHex and Wincode.