Research Paper on:
Sixteenth Century Literature and Parody

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, and William Shakespeare, brooded on the magical, transforming power of art. This power could be associated with civility and virtue, as Sidney claims, but it  could also have the demonic qualities manifested by the pleasing words of Spensers enchanter, Archimago" (Norton Topics Internet source). At this point, many literary artists will resort to the  power of their pens and will portray the dissenting opinion within the context of humor, most particularly parody. Its sometimes difficult to differentiate between satire, parody and farce;  however, a quick trip to a local dictionary will bring the matter quickly to a close. Parody imitates or mimics in an absurd manner the conventions and style of  others. The form of parody, like satire, mocks social conventions by emphasizing the ridiculousness of the trait or situation. The use of parody puts the reader into the position  of deciding what the author is mocking and what lessons are meant to be learned. In many instances, the form of a piece will parody the ideal by taking  it to extremes in order to make a point Cervantes, whether in the form of the metaphor, parody or allegory, manages to portray the government, love and the chivalric  quest as being somehow representative of the times in which he lived. Through the use of exaggeration, Cervantes is basically saying that the people should not take themselves, or  the social rules they live by, so seriously. Cervantes drew from and expanded the Classical-Neoclassical tradition to bring to the reader a "canonical" genre filled with "wit and judgment"  (Nelson Internet source). Through parody, Cervantes was also sending a warning to those in power to beware their own self-assurance and pomposity. The quests that Don Quixote