FREE ESSAY ON CARNIVALISM AND ITS EFFECT ON LITERATURE

CARNIVALISM AND ITS EFFECT ON LITERATURE

Carnivalization is the term used by Mikhail Bakhtin to describe the shaping effect on
literary genres. The idea of carnivalism is the discourse of structuralism. Carnivalism
is the opposite of everything deemed normal. Bahktin describes it as: ...the true feast
of time, the feasts of becoming, change and renewal. (45) Carnival originated from the
Feasts of the Church. The feasts were a serious, formal occasion in which strict patterns
were closely followed. Emphasis was placed on social standing. It was considered a
consecration of inequality (45). However, during Carnival, everyone was considered equal.
The festivities of Carnival were very popular, everything was turned upside down (the
smart become stupid, rich become poor, etc.; fantasy and reality become one). The jolly
relativity of all things is proclaimed. (45)
Carnivalism is evident throughout literature, but it is very noticeable during the
Renaissance. The Socratic dialogue is an example of the earliest carnivalised literary
forms. Two of the most familiar forms of carnivalism are Alisoun; the Wife of Bath from
Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and Falstaff, from Shakespeare's Henry IV. Alisoun,
asserts her own overbearing assessment of the roles of women in society and
relationships. The Wife has often been written off as a shrew-like bombast simply
sprouting her dissatisfaction. She is the opposite of what women were expected to be in
her time. She seems to take pride in being so contradictory to societal ideals. Falstaff,
like the Wife; enjoys being the center of attention and shocking people with his
outlandish proclamations. He is a con man, coward, and thief. Although people would never
admit it, they secretly enjoy hearing the lewd stories told by the Wife and Falstaff.
The Wife and Falstaff could be described as grotesque realism. Grotesque realism has no
lower level. It is the dark side of society. The term perfectly describes both
characters. They represent the subconscious of people- the things and ideas that people
are afraid to say or do. Falstaff and the Wife both use apologia to justify their
actions. The Wife has her own unique interpretation of the Bible. She asks where in the
Bible is virginity commanded. She also questions the traditional moral values of medieval
British culture in asking, ... to what end were reproductive organs made, why are people
made so perfectly? Falstaff justifies his actions by saying banish plump Jack, banish all
the world. In essence, everyone is just like him; the only difference is that he doesn't
hide it.
Bakhtin's emphasis on carnival goes against the idea that literature must be unified. He
suggests that major literary works may be multi-leveled and resistant to unification.
(41) In his essay, Discourse of the Novel, he states when someone else's ideological
discourse is internally persuasive for us and acknowledged by us, entirely different
possibilities open up.(43) This is the case with the Wife and Falstaff. They represent
the idea that life does not have to be so rigid, it is o.k. to bend the rules a bit.
The Wife of Bath and Falstaff are examples of carnivalism, grotesque realism, and
authoritative discourse. The characters appear to be larger than life when they are
actually only one side of the coin of society. Heads shows society as it is expected to
be, tails shows life as it really is.
Bibliography
Rivkin, Julie and Michael Ryan, eds. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Malden, 
Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Inc, 1998.
Thomas, Michael et al. The Complete Anthology of Literary Theories. London:
W.W. Norton and Company, 1979.
The Effect of Carnivalism on Literature and Society
By
Monquita Ransom
Literary Theory 
May 5, 2000
Dr. Lavazzi