Parody and Satire

[joshwriting]

(sort of cross-posted from Sheroes)

I am going to be teaching a class on Parody and Satire to a group of about sixteen 7th - 12th graders for 3 months starting in September.

I am interested in suggestions for both 'required' readings and supplementary readings/recommendations for a reading list; both 'required' recordings and supplementary music/

Comments

[chibirhm]

Mark Twain! Also, A Modest Proposal.

[joshwriting]

Thank you.

[siderea]

To fill in some history you might bring up the goliards, who were notorious at both satire and parody. (Which brings up a question I have pondered and poked at but not resolved: does Evangelium Secundum Marcas Argenti -- "The Gospel According to the Silver Mark", i.e. "The Gospel of the Almighty Dollar" -- actually (still) exist. Maybe I can run that one down for you. There are tantalizing references to it online (and off) but a suspicious lack of, oh, manuscript citation.)

I have Waddell, The Wandering Scholars which, has both "Dum Dianae Vitrea" (in original and translation) and "Dum Domus Lapidea" (only in original), which I can provide to you. I think I can manefest both the lyrics and translation of "Ysaias cecinit" and it's political parody the name of which eludes me at the moment if you want. There's a chunk of "Quando sumus in taberna" which I understand is a parody of part of the Mass, but I am not familiar enough with Masses to say.

After the goliards, the Roman de Fauvel is another famous work you may want to

[quantumkitty]

There's a chunk of "Quando sumus in taberna" which I understand is a parody of part of the Mass, but I am not familiar enough with Masses to say.

I could probably figure that one out; I'm pretty familiar with Masses.

[siderea]

OK! The part in bold is the bit I am given to understand is an ecclesiastical spoof, but the edges may be off so I'm including more for context.

...
Quidam ludunt,
quidam bibunt,
quidam indiscrete vivunt.
sed in ludo qui morantur,
ex his quidam denudantur,
quidam ibi vestiuntur,
quidam saccis induuntur;
ibi nullus timet mortem,
sed pro Baccho mittunt sortem.

Primo pro nummata vini;
ex hac bibunt libertini;
semel bibunt pro captivis,
post haec bibunt ter pro vivis,
quater pro Christianis cunctis,
quinquies pro fidelibus defunctis,
sexies pro sororibus vanis,
septies pro militibus silvanis.
octies pro fratribus perversis,
nonies pro monachis dispersis,
decies pro navigantibus,
undecies pro discordantibus,
duodecies pro paenitentibus,
tredecies pro iter agentibus.

Tam pro papa quam pro rege
bibunt omnes sine lege.
Bibit hera, bibit herus,
bibit miles, bibit clerus,
bibit ille, bibit illa,
...

[quantumkitty]

The part you've bolded sounds like a parody of the General Intercessions (some source).

This site also says that "the poem ends with a parody of a phrase from the Requiem Mass, 'Let those who slander us be confounded and let their names not be recorded in the Book of the Righteous.'"

I looked at the text of the Requiem Mass and couldn't find that sentence, but it sounds like something that would be in there...

[mhuzzell]

I second 'A Modest Proposal'. I read it for a class on humor in high school. At the time, it was funny, short, accessible, and really drove home the concept. Since then, it has proved to be one of the most valuable things I have read (in that I have found, somehwat unexpectedly, that it is one of those things, like Shakespeare or The Bible, with which it is extremely beneficial to have some familiarity).

I can't recommend Colbert enough. I know he's a 'duh', but still, he's probably the best out there, at least of people currently producing.

...I see from your 'music' you're likely already considering Weird Al...

Ben Folds did a cover of Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit" which is pretty funny. The words are exactly the same, but the tone is obviously satirical. I'll send you the MP3s (for it and the original) if you like.

The thing about parodies, though, is that they (usually) require that one be at least somewhat familiar with the thing that they're parodying. Given that, I'm not sure what would be best for your students.

[mhuzzell]

Oh, and it's probably a bit beyond most of them, but if you've got some advanced 'uns, there's always 'Orlando' ;-P

[joshwriting]

Orlando would certainly be an interesting addition. One or two of the 16 might be up for it. I am unfamiliar with either the cover or the original of Bitches Ain't Shit, and will put those on the 'to be previewed' list when the MP3s make their way in this direction.

The familiarity component is very key, you are right. We will be using the basis for things as well as the things themselves.

[mhuzzell]

I tried to email them to the account listed in your profile, but encountered a 'permanent error'.

[chenoameg]

Some of the songs from Avenue Q are not quite suitable for that group, but some of them are, and the whole thing is a delightful parody.

(I think it's a parody. What's the difference between parody, satire, and pastiche?)

[joshwriting]

Avenue Q is among the theatrical pieces on my mind. The borderlands between and among those three terms is not always clear, though I would say that parody is in the middle of the other two.

[forestofglory]

my instant 'duh!' is Gilbert and Sullivan.

[joshwriting]

Which G&S do you think most suits, and what would you say that one parodies?

[forestofglory]

Pinafore - with it's parody of the class system and the navy in general. I think that one is the most clearly parody -though they all have elements of it.

[lightcastle]

I don't know about G&S as parody, but Anna Russel doing "How to write a Gilbert and Sullivan Opera" is very funny. Her Ring Cycle, too. Again, though, both require knowledge of the original.