Burlesque plays were written to undermine the artistic pretensions of heroic tragedy, from the artificiality of its rhymed form, to its strutting heroes and their naive heroic assumptions. This anthology, which includes plays by Buckingham, Gay, Carey, and Fielding, reflects the marvellousparodying of this form, which with its barbed allusions, refreshing frankness about sexual mores, and mock-pedantic footnotes continues to make hilarious reading today.