Burlesque
an artistic composition, especially literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity.
any ludicrous parody or grotesque caricature.
Also, burlesk. a humorous and provocative stage show featuring slapstick humor, comic skits, bawdy songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad female chorus.
involving ludicrous or mocking treatment of a solemn subject.
of, relating to, or like stage-show burlesque.
to make ridiculous by mocking representation.
to use caricature.
Contemporary Examples
Italy: Despite Bunga Bunga Trial, Berlusconi Ponders Run for President Barbie Latza Nadeau June 2, 2012
New Clue in Chasen Murder A. L. Bardach December 5, 2010
‘Dark Knight Rises’: Christopher Nolan’s Masterpiece Richard Rushfield July 25, 2012
18 Golden Globes Snubs & Surprises Ramin Setoodeh December 12, 2012
Ronni Chasen, a Hollywood Wonder Woman Caroline Graham November 15, 2010
Historical Examples
Aspects and Impressions Edmund Gosse
The Science of Fairy Tales Edwin Sidney Hartland
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 1, December 11, 1841 Various
The Dramatic Values in Plautus Wilton Wallace Blancke
A Book of Burlesque Willam Davenport Adams
noun
an artistic work, esp literary or dramatic, satirizing a subject by caricaturing it
a ludicrous imitation or caricature
a play of the 17th–19th centuries that parodied some contemporary dramatic fashion or event
(US & Canadian, theatre) Also burlesk. a bawdy comedy show of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: the striptease eventually became one of its chief elements Slang name burleycue
adjective
of, relating to, or characteristic of a burlesque
verb -lesques, -lesquing, -lesqued
to represent or imitate (a person or thing) in a ludicrous way; caricature
n.
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