carnival, carnivalesque

carnival, carnivalesque
   Carnival is an occasion or season of public celebration, often with parades, costumes, music, and dancing; an instance of merrymaking, feasting, or masquerading in riotous excess. As such, carnival is celebrated in Roman Catholic regions during the three-day period before Lent — 40 days of fasting and sacrifice. Examples include Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday", meaning Shrove Tuesday) in New Orleans, LA, and carnivals in cities across Europe and Latin America. Many historians assert that carnival has roots in the ancient Roman festivals Saturnalia (Saturn's festival) and Lupercalia (honoring Faunus, god of fertility and forests), characterized by Bacchanalian revels of unbridled freedom. Thus carnival's temporary subversions of civil order reveal links between Christians' annual remembrance of Christ's redemption from sin to pagans' seasonal celebration of winter's end and spring's beginning.

Glossary of Art Terms. 2014.

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  • Carnivalesque — Carnivalesque: This term coined by the Russian critic Mikhail Bakhtin refers to a literary mode that subverts and liberates the assumptions of the hegemony though humor and chaos.The origins of the carnivalesque is the concept of carnival. The… …   Wikipedia

  • carnival — carnivalesque, carnivallike, adj. /kahr neuh veuhl/, n. 1. a traveling amusement show, having sideshows, rides, etc. 2. any merrymaking, revelry, or festival, as a program of sports or entertainment: a winter carnival. 3. the season immediately… …   Universalium

  • carnivalesque — [kar΄nə vəl esk′] adj. like a carnival, as in being excessive, disordered, chaotic, surreal, vital, etc. * * * …   Universalium

  • carnivalesque — carnival ► NOUN 1) an annual period of public revelry involving processions, music, and dancing. 2) N. Amer. a travelling funfair or circus. DERIVATIVES carnivalesque adjective. ORIGIN Italian carnevale, from Latin carnelevamen Shrovetide , from… …   English terms dictionary

  • carnivalesque — [kar΄nə vəl esk′] adj. like a carnival, as in being excessive, disordered, chaotic, surreal, vital, etc …   English World dictionary

  • carnival — ► NOUN 1) an annual period of public revelry involving processions, music, and dancing. 2) N. Amer. a travelling funfair or circus. DERIVATIVES carnivalesque adjective. ORIGIN Italian carnevale, from Latin carnelevamen Shrovetide , from caro… …   English terms dictionary

  • carnivalesque — | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|esk adjective Etymology: Italian carnivalesco, from carnivale + esco esque : like or suggestive of a carnival Venice … is like a museum with carnivalesque overtones Truman Capote * * * carnivalesqueˈ adjective Characteristic of or… …   Useful english dictionary

  • carnivalesque — adjective Date: 1791 1. suggestive of a carnival < a carnivalesque celebration > 2. marked by an often mocking or satirical challenge to authority and the traditional social hierarchy < a carnivalesque protest > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • carnivalesque — adjective Resembling a carnival …   Wiktionary

  • carnival — noun 1》 an annual period of public revelry involving processions, music, dancing, etc. 2》 N. Amer. a travelling funfair or circus. Derivatives carnivalesque adjective Origin C16: from Ital. carnevale, carnovale, from med. L. carnelevamen,… …   English new terms dictionary

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