A burlesque is a musical work intended to make something serious seem stupid and funny, to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The name 'burlesque' comes from the Italian term 'burlesco' which stems from 'burla'. Burla, or burlesco, means mockery. The word was first used in the 1500s by the Italian Francesco Berni, who called his operas burleschi.