History of English Humour, Vol. 2

History of English Humour, Vol. 2

Transcriber's note: The astute reader will notice there is no Chapter XV in the Table of Contents or in the text. This was a printer's error in the original book. The chapters were incorrectly numbered, but no chapter was missing. This e-book has been transcribed to match the original. Burlesque, that is comic imitation, comprises parody and caricature. The latter is a valuable addition to humorous narrative, as we see in the sketches of Gillray, Cruikshank and others. By itself it is not sufficiently suggestive and affords no story or conversation. Hence in the old caricatures the speeches of the characters were written in balloons over their heads, and in the modern an explanation is added underneath. For want of such assistance we lose the greater part of the humour in Hogarth's paintings. We may date the revival of Parody from the fifteenth century, although Dr. Johnson speaks as though it originated with Philips. Notwithstanding the great scope it affords for humorous invention, it has never become popular, nor formed an important branch of[Pg 2] literature; perhaps, because the talent of the parodist always suffered from juxtaposition with that of his original. In its widest sense parody is little more than imitation, but as we should not recognise any resemblance without the use of the same form, it always implies a similarity in words or style. Sometimes the thoughts are also reproduced, but this is not sufficient, and might merely constitute a summary or translation. The closer the copy the better the parody, as where Pope's lines ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 18906
Author: L'Estrange, A. G. K. (Alfred Guy Kingan)
Release Date: Jul 25, 2006
Format: eBook
Language: English