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Definition of Parody
A parody is a work that mimics the style of another work, artist, or genre in an exaggerated way, usually for comic effect. Parodies can take many forms, including fiction... read full definition
A parody is a work that mimics the style of another work, artist, or genre in an exaggerated way, usually for comic effect. Parodies can... read full definition
A parody is a work that mimics the style of another work, artist, or genre in an exaggerated way, usually... read full definition
Key Examples in Moby-Dick
Chapter 113: The Forge
Explanation and Analysis—Inverted baptism :
When forging the harpoon with which he intends to kill Moby Dick, Ahab parodies the Christian ritual of baptism but in a way that inverts it to represent his defiance of the gods. When forged, Ahab rejects the water for the harpoon and instead asks the three “heathen” harpooners if they will be pricked by the barbs to “baptize” it in blood.
Three punctures were made in the heathen flesh, and the White Whale’s barbs were then tempered.
“Ego non baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli!” deliriously howled Ahab, as the malignant iron scorchingly devoured the baptismal blood.
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