The Bakhtinian Carnival Spirit in Shakespeare's Three Comedies
Nigar Şen Shakirov
- 144 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
The Bakhtinian Carnival Spirit in Shakespeare's Three Comedies
Nigar Şen Shakirov
About This Book
William Shakespeare's comedies entitled A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It and Twelfth Night reflect the carnival spirit in Mikhail Bakhtin's theory, which proposes a temporary inversion of the existing world order and traditions. Based on the tradition of "folk humour, " Bakhtin's notion of the carnival brings a new outlook on the world order. When the carnivalesque atmosphere in these plays is analysed with reference to "role reversal, " "chronotope, " "parody" and "grotesque imagery, " it is observed that, with the aim of laughter, the typical representatives of the usual world order are imitated, their roles are reversed and their bodies are depicted as grotesque. This forms a carnival world, which is against dogmas in the plays and reveals the relativity of truth. This carnivalesque atmosphere temporarily suspends the rules of the present hierarchical order and offers a different insight. Bakhtinian carnivalesque atmosphere created by role reversals, parody and grotesque imagery and the festivities in the background of the plays' plots, propose a different perception of the world in opposition to the authoritative order represented alongside.