— Ch. 1 · Defining Parody And Satire —
Parody.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Professor Simon Dentith defined parody in 2000 as any cultural practice providing a relatively polemical allusive imitation of another cultural production or practice. Literary theorist Linda Hutcheon offered a different view, stating that parody is imitation not always at the expense of the parodied text. The writer and critic John Gross observed that parody flourishes on territory between pastiche and burlesque. Pastiche describes a composition in another artist's manner without satirical intent. Burlesque fools around with high literature material to adapt it to low ends. Denis Diderot distinguished these forms in his Encyclopédie by calling good parody fine amusement capable of instructing sensible minds. He labeled burlesque miserable buffoonery pleasing only the populace. When a formula grows tired, such as moralistic melodramas in the 1910s, it retains value only as parody. Buster Keaton shorts mocked that genre successfully during this period.
Ancient Greek Origins And Evolution
Aristotle identified Hegemon of Thasos as the inventor of parody in his Poetics from the second chapter fifth section. Hegemon transformed the sublime into the ridiculous by slightly altering wording in well-known poems. Ancient Greek literature featured a narrative poem called parodia imitating epic style but treating light subjects. The word combines para meaning beside or counter against with oide meaning song. This created the term parodia sometimes taken to mean counter-song. The Oxford English Dictionary defines parody as imitation turned to produce a ridiculous effect. Yet the prefix par also has non-antagonistic meaning beside so nothing necessitates ridicule. Old Comedy allowed even gods to be made fun of. The play Frogs portrayed Heracles as glutton and Dionysus as cowardly. Dionysus dressed as Heracles to travel to the Underworld to save Athens. Ancient Greeks created satyr plays parodying tragic plays with performers dressed like satyrs. Timon of Phlius wrote Silloi texts using philosophical points through parody. Lucian of Samosata created True History in the 2nd century CE mocking travel texts like Indica and The Odyssey. His characters traveled to the Moon and engaged in interplanetary war.