View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Rabelais' novel, the "ancestral body" to which Bakhtin refers means:
(a) The generative organs which produce children.
(b) The portions of the body that die over time, like hair and fingernails.
(c) The features of one's body in which one resembles one's parents.
(d) The record of births and deaths kept by local churches.

2. In grotesque realism, the body is most often represented as:
(a) A faulty copy of the Divine.
(b) Several separate units fighting with each other for superiority.
(c) A whole unit, interior merged with exterior.
(d) Subordinate to the higher functions of the brain.

3. Bakhtin asserts that the spirit of Carnival is essentially:
(a) One of pessimism and regression.
(b) One of innocence and confusion.
(c) One of immortality and regeneration.
(d) One of dullness and duty.

4. Why did Hippocrates assert such an influence on Rabelais?
(a) Hippocrates' exclusive emphasis on folk culture.
(b) The theme of religious fervor in his works.
(c) All his works were set in the marketplace.
(d) The theme of the grotesque body in his works.

5. In which element of Shakespeare's dramas does Bakhtin see the overall theme of Rabelais' carnivalesque repeated?
(a) In the farcical secondary characters.
(b) In the logic of crownings and uncrownings.
(c) In the tragic elements of Shakespeare's romances.
(d) In the strengths of characters such as Hamlet and Othello.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Bakhtin cite Goethe as a source about the nature of Carnival?

2. What body part is most often used in grotesque caricatures of sexual potency?

3. What does Rabelais parody in his response to the episode of Gargantua's birth?

4. Bakhtin asserts that in the episode of Gargantua's birth, the dividing lines between _______ are erased.

5. Bakhtin discusses "Cyprian's Supper," which is a play about:

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What did the Medieval stage resemble?

4. How do the Medieval and Renaissance pictures of the cosmos differ?

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

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

7. What is the connection between the banquet and speech?

8. What is the significance of Friar John's description of the monastery belfry as "fecund"?

9. Discuss the significance of Gargantua's birth.

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,082 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample