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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. In the folklore and grotesque realism of Rabelais' works, excrement represents bodies and matter that are:

2. Bakhtin associates Friar John's beating of the men with:

3. According to Bakhtin's semiotic understanding, what irony is inherent within the creative power of language?

4. With what portion of the body is grotesque debasement most concerned?

5. How are abusive and praiseful words reflective of grotesque realism?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does the speaker of the prologue of the Third Book invite only good men to drink?

3. What was the general perception of laughter in the Renaissance?

4. What role do oaths and profanities fill in Rabelais' novel?

5. How does the marketplace become an indicator of folk culture in general?

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

7. What is Bakhtin's general idea about the purpose of art?

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

9. How is Bakhtin's book "double-voiced," as Michael Holquist asserts it is?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose three main characters from Rabelais' novel and explain the meanings of their names (for example, Gargantua, Pantagruel, Panurge, King Anarchus, Friar John, Lord Basche, etc.) Discuss any connotations their names may have, any allusions to people, places, historical events, or mythology, and what their names represent in the context of carnivalesque folk culture.

Essay Topic 2

Explain the role that herbalists, druggists, and physicians occupied in Renaissance France, and how Bakhtin incorporates them into his study of the marketplace in Rabelais' novel. How does Bakhtin relate the material body to physicians and medicine? How does Rabelais portray bodily ailments, physicians, heath, life, death, and birth?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the meaning and significance of "grotesque realism." How is it manifested in Rabelais' time? How is the material body presented in the tradition of the grotesque? Why does Bakhtin connect folk culture so closely with the grotesque? Use examples from the text to support your points.

(see the answer keys)

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