burlesque
Sign in to savethumb|300px|Burlesque on Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ|Ben-Hur, A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word is loaned from French and derives from the Italian ', which, in turn, is derived from the Italian ' – a joke, ridicule or mockery.
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Literary origins and development
- In music
- Classical music
- Jazz
- Victorian theatrical burlesque
- American burlesque
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|300px|Burlesque on Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ|Ben-Hur, A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word is loaned from French and derives from the Italian ', which, in turn, is derived from the Italian ' – a joke, ridicule or mockery.
Burlesque overlaps with caricature, parody and travesty, and, in its theatrical form, with extravaganza, as presented during the Victorian era. The word "burlesque" has been used in English in this literary and theatrical sense since the late 17th century. It has been applied retrospectively to works of Chaucer and Shakespeare and to the Graeco-Roman classics. Contrasting examples of literary burlesque are Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock and Samuel Butler's Hudibras. An example of musical burlesque is Richard Strauss's 1890 Burleske for piano and orchestra. Examples of theatrical burlesques include W. S. Gilbert's Robert the Devil and the A. C. Torr – Meyer Lutz shows, including Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué.