It is a , version of mise en abîme , most used in literature, theatre and film. It was mentioned in André Gide's Diary in 1893. . . probably to avoid the circumflex accent. It refers to a part of the work in which the same meaning of the major work can be recognized, as if one narrative contained another equal, but reduced. In horror cinema the concept is taken a little further, and the mise en abyme shows a nightmare in a character, who upon waking up discovers that he is in another nightmare. See meta-reference.