Burlesque
A comedic form mocking serious works through caricature and ludicrous treatment.
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Burlesque is a form of comedy in literature, drama, or music that makes people laugh by mocking the style or seriousness of weightier works, or by treating their subjects in a ridiculous way. The word comes into English from French, tracing back to the Italian burlesco, which itself derives from burla—meaning a joke, mockery, or ridicule. It shares ground with caricature, parody, and travesty, and on stage it overlaps with the Victorian-era extravaganza. English has used "burlesque" in this literary and theatrical sense since the late 1600s, and the term has been applied retroactively to the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and the classics of ancient Greece and Rome.
The term first appeared in a title in Francesco Berni’s early 16th-century Opere burlesche, and for a time such verses were called poesie bernesca in his honor. In 17th-century Italy, France, and later England, burlesque came to mean a grotesque imitation of the dignified or pathetic. Early English examples include the comic play-within-a-play in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Beaumont and Fletcher’s The Knight of the Burning Pestle. In Spain, Cervantes ridiculed medieval romance in his satirical works.
Burlesque was intentionally ridiculous, often combining imitations of various authors with absurd descriptions, and it relied on the audience’s knowledge of the original subject. It was divided into two types: high burlesque, which applied an elevated style to a trivial subject (as in Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock), and low burlesque, which used a mocking, colloquial style for a serious subject (as in Samuel Butler’s Hudibras). In music, the term described works juxtaposing serious and comic elements for grotesque effect, from Telemann and Leopold Mozart to Richard Strauss’s 1890 Burleske for piano and orchestra. Later, in the United States, “burlesque” came to refer to variety shows popular from the 1860s to the 1940s, featuring bawdy comedy and striptease, a format that saw a resurgence from the 1990s.
Quick Facts
- Field
- Literary
- dramatic
- and musical performance
- Known for
- Caricaturing serious works; bawdy comedy and striptease in later US variety shows
- Origins
- Italy, 16th century; widespread in 17th century Italy, France, and England
- Related forms
- Caricature
- parody
- travesty
- extravaganza
- mock-heroic
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The word first appears in a title in Francesco Berni's Opere burlesche of the early 16th century. For a time, burlesque verses were known as poesie bernesca in his honor. In 17th century Spain, Miguel de Cervantes ridiculed medieval romance in his satirical works. Burlesque was intentionally ridiculous in its imitation of several styles and often used interchangeably with pastiche, parody, and the mock-heroic.
It depended on the reader's knowledge of the subject to make its intended effect. In the 17th and 18th centuries, burlesque was divided into high and low types. High burlesque applied an elevated manner to a commonplace subject, as in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock. Low burlesque applied an irreverent style to a serious subject, as in Samuel Butler's Hudibras.
In music, the term was used from the early 18th century to describe works juxtaposing serious and comic elements. Victorian theatrical burlesque, popular in London between the 1830s and 1890s, took the form of musical theatre parody adapting well-known operas, plays, or ballets into broad comic plays. The dialogue was often in rhyming couplets with bad puns. A later use of the term in the United States from the 1860s to the 1940s referred to variety show performances featuring bawdy comedy and female striptease.
Reader's Guide
Burlesque's significance lies in its long history as a mode of comic critique, spanning literature, music, and theatre from the 16th century onward. It provided a means to mock high culture and serious works, relying on audience literacy to appreciate the parody.
In the Victorian era, it became a popular theatrical form in London, blending music, puns, and travesty roles. Its later American incarnation as a variety show with striptease influenced Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s and saw a resurgence since the 1990s. Burlesque's legacy includes its influence on later comedic forms and its role in challenging conventions through humor and exaggeration.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Burlesque as a performing art?
Burlesque is a comedic form that mocks serious works by exaggerating their style or subject into something absurd and ridiculous. It spans literature, drama, and music, using ridicule as its central engine.
How is Burlesque different from parody or caricature?
While all three overlap, burlesque specifically targets the spirit or manner of serious works through ludicrous treatment rather than simply imitating them. It also connects to broader theatrical forms like extravaganza and mock-heroic performance.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Burlesque (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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