"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,...
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.