Parody
Parody imitates a recognizable work, style, or genre while exaggerating its features for comic or critical effect.
Imitation: The deliberate reproduction of another person’s actions, expression, or work. Parody begins by reproducing recognizable features of its target.
Literary parody: A literary work that imitates and transforms another work, author, genre, or literary convention for comic or critical effect. It applies parody’s imitation and transformation to written works.
Greek Old Comedy: A form of Athenian comic drama, especially associated with fifth-century BCE playwrights such as Aristophanes. Its comic imitation and ridicule provide an early theatrical context for parody.
Irony: A figure of speech or situation in which meaning, expectation, or outcome differs from what is stated or anticipated. Irony can sharpen parody but does not require imitation of a source.
Cervantes: A Spanish writer best known for Don Quixote, a foundational work of the European novel. His parody helped transform the chivalric romance into a subject of literary reflection.
Exaggeration: The representation of a feature as greater or more extreme than it is. Amplifying a target’s habits makes them comic or conspicuous.
Musical parody: A musical work that imitates or alters existing music or musical conventions for comic or critical effect. Melody, lyrics, and performance style can all supply recognizable targets.
Aristophanes: An ancient Greek comic playwright whose surviving works include political and literary satire. His plays imitate public figures, genres, and literary styles for comic effect.
Caricature: A representation that distorts distinctive features for comic or critical effect. Caricature exaggerates a person or feature; parody typically imitates a work or style.
Jonathan Swift: An Anglo-Irish writer and satirist whose works include Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal. His imitative and satirical writing shows how parody can carry political and social criticism.