definitions

mise en scène

[ mee zahn sen ]
/ mi zɑ̃ ˈsɛn /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mise en scène ON THESAURUS.COM

noun French.

the process of setting a stage, with regard to placement of actors, scenery, properties, etc.
the stage setting or scenery of a play.
surroundings; environment.

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RELATED WORDS

arena, backdrop, background, blackout, display, exhibition, flat, landscape, locale, locality, location, outlook, pageant, picture, place, representation, scenery, set, setting, show

Nearby words

misdo, misdoubt, mise, mise en place, mise en scene, mise en scène, misease, miseducate, miseducation, misemploy, miseno
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mise en scene

  • The mise-en-scene of a play is as much a part of it as the words spoken on the stage.

    The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet|George Bernard Shaw

  • This is merely a hasty glimpse of the "mise-en-scene" that preceded the debut in life of the most renowned of Polish poets.

    Sonnets from the Crimea|Adam Mickiewicz

  • The author then undertook to stage the play, designed the scenes, and arranged the mise-en-scene to the minutest detail.

    Hadda Padda|Godmunder Kamban

British Dictionary definitions for mise en scene

mise en scène

/ French (miz ɑ̃ sɛn) /

noun

  1. the arrangement of properties, scenery, etc, in a play
  2. the objects so arranged; stage setting
the environment of an event
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mise en scene

mise en scene

1833, from French mise en scène, literally "setting on the stage," from mise (13c.), literally "a putting, placing," noun use of fem. past participle of mettre "to put, place," from Latin mittere "to send" (see mission).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper