Título: Burlesque
Seção: Literary origins and development
Background: A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word derives from the Italian burlesco, which, in turn, is derived from the Italian burla - a joke, ridicule or mockery. Burlesque overlaps in meaning with caricature, parody and travesty, and, in its theatrical sense, with extravaganza, as presented during the Victorian era. "Burlesque" has been used in English in this literary and theatrical sense since the late 17th century.

Conteúdo: The word first appears in a title in Francesco Berni's Opere burlesche of the early 16th century, works that had circulated widely in manuscript before they were printed. For a time, burlesque verses were known as poesie bernesca in his honour. 'Burlesque' as a literary term became widespread in 17th century Italy and France, and subsequently England, where it referred to a grotesque imitation of the dignified or pathetic. Shakespeare's Pyramus and Thisbe scene in Midsummer Night's Dream and the general mocking of romance in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Knight of the Burning Pestle were early examples of such imitation.  In 17th century Spain, playwright and poet Miguel de Cervantes ridiculed medieval romance in his many satirical works. Among Cervantes' works are Exemplary Novels and the Eight Comedies and Eight New Interludes published in 1615. The term burlesque has been applied retrospectively to works of Chaucer and Shakespeare and to the Graeco-Roman classics.  Burlesque was intentionally ridiculous in that it imitated several styles and combined imitations of certain authors and artists with absurd descriptions. In this, the term was often used interchangeably with "pastiche", "parody", and the 17th and 18th century genre of the "mock-heroic". Burlesque depended on the reader's (or listener's) knowledge of the subject to make its intended effect, and a high degree of literacy was taken for granted.  17th and 18th century burlesque was divided into two types: High burles

user: what is the origin of Burlesque?

assistant: The word first appears in a title in Francesco Berni's Opere burlesche of the early 16th century,

user: how did it become a popular word?

assistant: 'Burlesque' as a literary term became widespread in 17th century Italy and France, and subsequently England, where it referred to a grotesque imitation of the dignified or pathetic.

user: what was played as a Burlesque act?

assistant: Midsummer Night's Dream and the general mocking of romance in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Knight of the Burning Pestle were early examples of such imitation.

user: what other works were made as burlesque?

assistant: playwright and poet Miguel de Cervantes ridiculed medieval romance in his many satirical works.

user: who wrote Midsummer Night's Dream?

assistant: Shakespeare's Pyramus and Thisbe scene in Midsummer Night's Dream

user: was Burlesque popular?

assistant: Burlesque was intentionally ridiculous in that it imitated several styles and combined imitations of certain authors and artists with absurd descriptions.