In literary and cultural theory, Mikhail Bakhtin uses “carnival” to describe a mode of culture, seen especially in the medieval and Renaissance periods, where normal social order is temporarily suspended. During carnival:
- Hierarchies are inverted
- Official seriousness is mocked
- The body, the comic, the grotesque, and the popular crowd take center stage
- Authority becomes the target of parody and laughter
These ideas mainly come from Rabelais and His World.
A. It became important through the work of the Russian theorist Mikhail Bakhtin.
Correct.
- Bakhtin is the primary theorist associated with the idea of carnival as a critical concept in literary studies. He systematized and popularised the term.
B. It means the way in which popular humour subverts official authority in classical, medieval and renaissance texts and culture.
Correct.
- This is exactly Bakhtin’s argument: carnival laughter subverts official seriousness, church authority, social hierarchy, and monologic power. Carnival culture functions as an unofficial counterforce.
C. It overturns the established hierarchy and sets up a popular and democratic counter-culture.
Correct.
- This matches Bakhtin’s explanation that carnival produces a “world turned upside down,” where kings become fools, fools become kings, and all participants are temporarily equal.
D. It brings out the serious elements in literature.
Incorrect.
- Carnival specifically emphasises the comic, grotesque, material, and subversive, not the “serious elements.” Bakhtin contrasts carnival with the “authoritative serious word.”
Therefore D is not applicable.
E. It is used as a critical tool for interpretation of poetry.
Incorrect / too narrow.
- Bakhtin’s carnival is used mostly in the analysis of narrative forms, especially the novel, and broader cultural practices.
It is not defined as a tool specifically for interpreting poetry.
So E is not applicable.
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