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Literature vocabulary · Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Parody

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounCommon term

In literature, parody means: An imitation of a recognizable work or style that changes it for comic or critical effect.

In Turkish: parodi

How it is used

Use when a recognizable model is imitated with a comic or critical change; identify the model.

Example sentences

  1. The parody turns the epic hero's battle into a struggle to open a stubborn jar.

    An everyday task replaces heroic action while retaining its grand style.

  2. Readers missed the parody because they had never seen the sentimental poem it imitates.

    Recognizing the earlier model is necessary to understand this joke.

Common collocations

  • a parody of
  • write a parody
  • burlesqueA literary or theatrical form that creates humor by treating a serious subject absurdly, or a trivial subject in a grand style.
  • intertextualityThe way texts shape and depend on other texts, through quotation, allusion, parody, imitation or rewriting, so that meaning comes partly from these connections.

More terms: Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

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