Which of the following are applicable to the term ‘Carnival’?
[A] It became important through the work of the Russian theorist Mikhail Bakhtin.
[B] It means the way in which popular humour subverts official authority in classical, medieval and renaissance texts and culture.
[C] It overturns the established hierarchy and sets up a popular and democratic counterculture.
[D] It brings out the serious elements in literature.
[E] It is used as a critical tool for interpretation of poetry.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

The correct answer is A, B and C only.

Let us break down the concept of 'Carnival' (or Carnivalesque) in literary theory to understand why options A, B, and C are applicable, while D and E are not:

[A] It became important through the work of the Russian theorist Mikhail Bakhtin:
This statement is historically and theoretically accurate. The concept of the "carnivalesque" was introduced and popularized by the prominent Russian philosopher and literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin, most notably in his seminal work Rabelais and His World (1965). Bakhtin used the medieval carnival as a metaphor to describe how literary texts can subvert dominant social and political structures.

[B] It means the way in which popular humour subverts official authority in classical, medieval and renaissance texts and culture:
This is the core definition of Bakhtin's carnivalesque. During the actual historical carnivals of the medieval and Renaissance eras, societal rules, hierarchies, and official authorities were temporarily suspended or inverted. Popular humor, satire, grotesque realism, and parodies were employed to mock and subvert ecclesiastical and political authorities, a style that found its way into the literature of those periods (such as the works of François Rabelais).

[C] It overturns the established hierarchy and sets up a popular and democratic counterculture:
During carnival, the traditional social hierarchies (such as king and peasant, priest and layman) were reversed or dissolved. A peasant could be crowned the "mock king" or the "Lord of Misrule." This temporary overturning of social strata established a democratic space where all individuals were equal, creating a vibrant counterculture that opposed the rigid, serious, and oppressive official culture.

Why [D] and [E] are incorrect:
- [D] It brings out the serious elements in literature: Carnival is characterized by laughter, parody, bodily excess, and the grotesque. Its primary function is to destabilize and mock official seriousness rather than to reinforce or bring out serious elements directly.
- [E] It is used as a critical tool for interpretation of poetry: While carnivalesque elements can theoretically be analyzed in any text, it is primarily applied to prose fiction (like novels, particularly those of Rabelais, Cervantes, or Dostoevsky) where dialogue, heteroglossia, and polyphony flourish, rather than being a specific tool tailored for the interpretation of poetry.

Therefore, options A, B, and C are the only correct descriptions of 'Carnival'.