This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 3, Intro. cont. & Chapter 1 - Rabelais in the History of Laughter.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Clowns and fools are:
(a) Prisoners forced to entertain others.
(b) Present only at large fairs or gatherings.
(c) Restricted to entertaining the royal court.
(d) Everyday representatives of the folk and of Carnival.

2. What does Bakhtin consider the most indispensable element of folk culture?
(a) Marriage.
(b) Carnival.
(c) Death rituals.
(d) Fables.

3. Carnival allowed:
(a) The upper class to oppress relentlessly the lower class.
(b) The endurance of the propriety expected of all social classes.
(c) The mixing of real and unreal, fantasy and fact.
(d) The peasants to sell their crops without paying taxes.

4. Why did Bakhtin feel his times were comparable to those of the Renaissance?
(a) Both eras were times of broad social change that left people unsure of how to proceed.
(b) The literatures and cultures of both eras bore a distinct resemblance.
(c) The specific threat of disease was killing many people in both times.
(d) Two political leaders of the different eras were incredibly alike.

5. With what is "folk culture" most concerned?
(a) Commerce and industry.
(b) The affairs of royalty.
(c) Foreign songs, art, and stories.
(d) The lives of ordinary people.