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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Panurge fear if he gets married?
(a) That he will eventually be cuckolded.
(b) That his wife will never love him.
(c) That he will marry an ugly woman.
(d) That he will not be able to have a son.

2. In Rabelais' novel, the words "to die" are closely associated with:
(a) Passing out after drinking too much wine.
(b) Losing a debate with a scholar.
(c) Being eaten or swallowed up.
(d) Sexual fulfillment.

3. In Medieval satires, the dismemberment of portions of the body relates to:
(a) The separate portions of society.
(b) The topography of the continents.
(c) The human body itself.
(d) The general conception of the divine.

4. What is the "sia ammazzato" of which Goethe writes?
(a) A parade showcasing exotic animals and curious goods from distant lands.
(b) A portion of Carnival where everyone tries to blow out each other's candles.
(c) The great feast in the middle of Carnival where everyone eats tripe.
(d) The final event of Carnival, in which the Church gives alms to the poor.

5. One of Rabelais' main sources for his enumerations of food was a Medieval treatise about:
(a) The ways in which chicken tasted better than pheasant.
(b) Restrictions of food for pregnant women.
(c) The proper order in which to eat banquet foods.
(d) Lenten and non-Lenten foods.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the Fourth Book, why does Villon set a trap for Tappecoue (or "Ticklepecker")?

2. What is a Renaissance "diablerie"?

3. "The Treatise of Garcia of Toledo," which Bakhtin cites, is notable for:

4. How does Bakhtin define the combination of human and animal organs in Rabelais' novel?

5. Goethe traces the roots of Carnival to the:

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Rabelais respond to the geographical changes of his own time and world?

2. How does Rabelais use the element of popular speech known as "coq-à-l'âne"?

3. How is "folly" ambivalent?

4. Why is the "Hippocratic Anthology" significant to Rabelais' work?

5. Why are eating and drinking two of the most important manifestations of the grotesque body?

6. What is the significance of the two Russian eras of history to which Bakhtin refers in Chapter Three?

7. Briefly describe the two opposing lines of thought in the "querelle des femmes."

8. How did games and gaming change after the Renaissance?

9. What does Bakhtin mean when he writes that popular-festive carnivalesque performances have no "footlights"?

10. What is "cosmic fear," and how is it treated in Renaissance folk culture?

(see the answer keys)

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