This document is a summary of the key points from a World Literature class discussing Rabelais and Bakhtin's concept of carnival and grotesque realism. It introduces Bakhtin's argument that Rabelais' work was not revolutionary but deeply traditional, drawing from medieval folk culture. It discusses how carnival involved sanctioned misrule and degradation of the high/spiritual through images of the low/physical. Bakhtin saw this as a celebration of life's cycles, while authorities later demanded the sublime over the grotesque.

1. World Literature II Renaissance to the Present Dr. Michael Broder University of South Carolina January 24, 2012

22. World Literature II Renaissance to the Present Dr. Michael Broder University of South Carolina January 24, 2012