BURLESQUE (Ital. burlesco, from burla, a joke, fun, playful

See also:

• TRICK

trick)  , a form of the comic in art, consisting broadly in an imitation of a work of art with the object of exciting laughter, by distortion or exaggeration, by turning, for example, the highly rhetorical into bombast, the pathetic into the mock-sentimental, and especially by a ludicrous contrast between the subject and the style, making gods speak like common men and common men like gods . While parody (q.v.), also based on imitation, relies for its effect more on the close following of the style of its counterpart, burlesque depends on broader and coarser effects . Burlesque may be applied to any form of art, and unconsciously, no doubt, may be found even in architecture . In the graphic arts it takes the form better known as " caricature " (q.v.) . Its particular sphere is, however, in literature, and especially in drama . The Batrachomachia, or Battle of the Frogs and Mice, is the earliest example in classical literature, being a travesty of the Homeric epic . There are many true burlesque parts in the comedies of Aristophanes, e.g. the appearance of Socrates in the Clouds . The Italian word first appears in the Opere Burlesche of Francesco Berni (1497–1535) . In France during part of the reign of Louis XIV., the burlesque attained to great popularity; burlesque Aeneids, Iliads and Odysseys were composed, and even the most sacred subjects were not left untravestied . Of the numerous writers of these, P . Scarron is most prominent, and his Virgile Travesti (1648–1653) was followed by numerous imitators . In English literature Chaucer's Rime of Sir Thopas is a burlesque of the long-winded medieval romances .

Among the best-known true burlesques in English dramatic literature may be mentioned the 2nd

duke of Buckingham's The Rehearsal, a burlesque of the heroic drama; Gay's Beggar's Opera, of the Italian opera; and Sheridan's The Critic . In the later 19th century the name " burlesque " was given to a form of musical dramatic composition in which the true element of burlesque found little or no place . These musical burlesques, with which the Gaiety theatre, London, and thenames of Edward Terry, Fred Leslie and Nellie Farren are particularly connected, developed from the earlier extravaganzas of J . R . Planche, written frequently round fairy tales . The Gaiety type of burlesque has since given place to the " musical comedy," and its only survival is to be found in the modern pantomime .