Francois rabelais biography tagalog version
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 1, Prologue-Chapter 12
Book 2, Prologue-Chapter 20
Book 3, Prologue-Chapter 26
Book 4, Prologue-Chapter 20
Book 5, Prologue-Chapter 48
Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Life of Gargantua and Pantagruel is a series of five novels written in French by François Rabelais in the 16th century. The novel-cycle relates the adventures of two giants in hyperbolic, satirical prose. Using humor ranging from slapstick to irony, Rabelais explores serious themes such as the development of education and religious reformation. The books are noted for their colorful, rich literary style, bursting with puns, allusions, and social commentary. An early example of the novel as a literary form, the books have an episodic structure and a Picaresque narrative, taking the reader on many adventures and journeys.
Pantagruel, the first book of the series, was published in 1532. A commercial success, the book came under heavy critical fire for its use of scatological and sexual humor as well as its criticisms of the clergy. Rabelais published Gargantua, which features the life of Pantagruel’s father, in 1534, under the pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier (an anagram of François Rabelais) to avoid controversy. The third and fourth books return to the adventures of Pantagruel, as does the fifth, published posthumously in 1564 (Rabelais died in 1553). Critics have since questioned the authorship of the last book, claiming its narrative style is duller than the earlier works of Rabelais. Further, it had become common even in Rabelais’s lifetime, for other writers to publish under his name and parody his style. Critics speculate one such pseudo-Rabelaisian narrative may have been included in the fifth book. M. A. Screech, the translator of the edition used here, believes the book is “supposititious” or a faux-Rabelaisian work, but still has literary and historical value.
This study guide uses the 2006 Penguin Classics paper
François Rabelais - Gargantua and Pantagruel
François Rabelais - Gargantua and Pantagruel
He was a French Renaissance writer, physician, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He has
historically been regarded as a writer of satire, the grotesque, bawdy jokes, and songs. His best known work is
Gargantua and Pantagruel. His literary legacy is such that the word Rabelaisian has been coined as a descriptive
inspired by his work and life.
Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532 - 1564)
"Gargantua and Pantragruel" is the collective title of five comic novels by François Rabelais, published
between 1532 and 1564. The novels present the comic and satiric story of the giant Gargantua, and his son
Pantagruel, and various companions, and are a vehicle for ridicule of the follies and superstitions of the times.
Although the five books of ”Gargantua and Pantragruel” are often presented chronologically, François Rabelais
actually wrote the second book first, which is the story of ”Pantagruel”.
Major characters
• Gargantua — a giant; father of Pantagruel; one of the main protagonists. Son of Grangousier and Gargamelle.
Born out of his mother’s ear after 11 months gestation.
• Pantagruel — a giant; son of Gargantua and Badebec; one of the main protagonists. He was born during one
of the worst droughts in recorded history so Gargantua chose his name to reflect that drought; in Greek “panta”
means “all things,” and “gruel” is translated into “thirsty.”
• Panurge — a young man of noble birth who lost his fortunes. He speaks a plethora of languages. He becomes
Pantagruel’s closest friend and companion. While he is described as a good and noble man, he is also described
as a cheat, a womanizer, a lecherous lout, a thief, a gambler, and a man who is always out of money.
• Epistemon — the teacher and tutor of Pantagruel. They remain good friends throughout the story.
Major themes French writer and humanist (died 1553) "Rabelais" redirects here. For other uses, see Rabelais (disambiguation). François Rabelais (RAB-ə-lay, -LAY;French:[fʁɑ̃swaʁablɛ]; born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French writer who has been called the first great French prose author. A humanist of the French Renaissance and Greek scholar, he attracted opposition from both Protestant theologian John Calvin and from the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Though in his day he was best known as a physician, scholar, diplomat, and Catholic priest, later he became better known as a satirist for his depictions of the grotesque, and for his larger-than-life characters. Living in the religious and political turmoil of the Reformation, Rabelais treated the great questions of his time in his novels. Rabelais admired Erasmus and like him is considered a Christian humanist. He was critical of medieval scholasticism and lampooned the abuses of powerful princes and popes. Rabelais is widely known for the first two volumes relating the childhoods of the giants Gargantua and Pantagruel written in the style of bildungsroman; his later works—the Third Book (which prefigures the philosophical novel) and the Fourth Book are considerably more erudite in tone. His literary legacy gave rise to the word Rabelaisian, an adjective meaning "marked by gross robust humor, extravagance of caricature, or bold naturalism." According to a tradition dating back to Roger de Gaignières (1642–1715), François Rabelais was the son of seneschal and lawyer Antoine Rabelais and was born at the estate of La Devinière in Seuilly (near Chinon), Touraine in modern-day Indre-et-Loire, where a Rabelais museum can be found today. The exact dates of his birth (c. 1483–1494) and death (1553) are unknown, but most scholars accept his likely birthdate as being 1483. His educatio .
• Satire — This story satirizes many aspects of Renaissance life, but among all the topics Rabelais focuses on
the class problem, François Rabelais
Biography