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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. With what is "folk culture" most concerned?

2. Bakhtin connects Medieval "seriousness" most closely to:

3. When did the Russian Revolution occur?

4. Comic rituals in Medieval and Renaissance Europe were:

5. The core images of the prologue of _Gargantua_ are:

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Rabelais' relationship with the fairs based upon?

2. What was the effect of the suspension of social hierarchies during Carnival?

3. How is degradation expressed, in terms of Rabelais' grotesque realism?

4. What is important about the figure of the physician in Rabelais' novel?

5. Describe Friar John.

6. What does tripe represent, in Bakhtin's analysis?

7. What was Bakhtin's relationship with the Russian Union of Writers?

8. Describe the Catchpoles and what they symbolize.

9. Why do modern readers find it difficult to read Rabelais' novel?

10. What does Bakhtin mean when he argues that laughter affirms the people's unofficial truth?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the "querelle des femmes" and Rabelais' perspective on it. How does Rabelais' novel portray women and femininity? Is Bakhtin's explanation of Rabelais' perspective on the querelle des femmes problematic in any way? Feel free to address this issue using terms of modern feminist theory.

Essay Topic 2

What is significant about the marketplace in the Renaissance? What is its relation to folk culture? How are social relationships conducted in the environment of the marketplace? How are the "street cries" significant aspects of folk culture? What other "unofficial" elements of communication, social commentary, and social interaction are especially prevalent in the marketplace? Are there any carnivalesque elements of the marketplace?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the nature of Medieval and Renaissance popular dramatic forms. On what occasions were performances held? What genre were these performances, and what was their common subject matter? What does Bakhtin mean when he asserts that such performances had no "footlights"? Citing examples from the text, explore the theme of universalism in these dramas.

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