Why do I enjoy parodies so much?

I've always enjoyed parodies like Chard Whitlow below. Why? Isn't parody a purely destructive art form? The comedian mocking the deeply serious artist? The triumph of the frivolous over the important?

Well, sometimes a parody can be vicious. For example, the recent leaked New Labour memo about Tony Blair's possible departure from office:

"As TB enters his final phase he needs to be focusing way beyond the finishing line, not looking at it. He needs to go with the crowds wanting more. He should be the star who won't even play that last encore."

If this were a deliberate parody it would be devastating. The fact that it is apparently a real document just shows how remote from reality our politicians can be.

But most literary parodies show afection for the form, and writer, they parody. Do I like Chard Whitlow because it brings Eliot down to my level? Does it make me feel better to see poems that are too difficult for me treated in this way? Do I feel good because I'm clever enough to "get" the jokes?

There may be an element of all these things, but I like to think that there's some value in parody. A good parody, like Chard Whitlow, sheds light on the original in some way. I feel Reed's poem does bring me closer to Eliot: it's inspired by love.

I think tomorrow I'll post something of Ern Malley's. Now there's a sad story.