While this passage is a perfect example of Rabelais's crass humor, it is not crude just for the sake of being crude as Rabelais is using this funny imagery to make points of social commentary. Author Yvonne Merritt writes, "Rabelais is also criticizing a school of thought, specifically Medieval scholasticism, in an attempt to portray Renaissance learning as a more enlightened school of thought. Once Grandgousier recognizes the limitations of this ‘medieval’ education being provided to his of his son, Gargantua, he switches to an ‘enlightened’ teacher, Ponocrates" (Merritt). Rabelais openly disliked and opposed the prominent scholars of his time as well as the church. He disapproved of their limited, overly critical and biased views of right and wrong and good or bad. The depiction of Gargantua peeing on Paris from on top of a church is a visual representation of his distain for these groups. Merritt, Yvonne. “The Unquenchable Thirst to Understand: Francois Rabelais’ Satire of Medieval and Renaissance Learning In Gargantua and Pantagruel .” Rabelais, Ampersand, http://itech.fgcu.edu/&/issues/vol2/issue2/rabelais.htm.

Rabelais uses vivid and graphic scenes to establish the crude and ironic tone of his humor in his writings. In this scene the graphic language describing Gargamelle's child birth is an example of textual expression meant to illustrate child birth as a natural or scientific process, using explicit and technical terms. This idea is discussed by author Ana Lokowhich, "He lauds the use of the corporal body as an instrument of textual expression and shows that the body is a useful tool in communicating abstract feelings and thoughts: “.. .all that is sacred and exalted is rethought on the level of the material bodily stratum or else combined and mixed with its images... This penetrates the obscure notion o f birth, is incredibly rich in corporal and oral language. Here, Rabelais embraces the natural aspect o f the birthing process. He inserts the ‘grotesque’ features of birth into the text, while also describing the arduous evacuation of the child from its mother’s body" (Lokowich 30). The use of the textual expression of a natural birth is ironic, as the chapter is about the child's unordinary birth from his mother's ear. Lokowich, Anna Kristen, "Landscaping the "Femme-Jardin" in Despstre's erotic trilogy" (2006). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5851. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5851

The colors of the Girdle, green and gold are significant. As previously established, the color green represents nature and the wild aspects of life, which is represented in Gawain's reasoning for accepting the girdle; Gawain's natural instinct for self preservation, as he is told that the girdle as the ability to protect him from harm. While the color gold represents perfection, chivalry, the standards of a knighthood Gawain holds himself to. According to professor Goldhurst, the colors of the girdle represent the conflict Gawain faces accepting the gift, "Gawain has yielded to the "green" of the girdle. This fact is the cause of his shame, for his entire way of life should have led him to resist the primal call of nature, and to cling to the "gold" of the image: courtliness, grace, and the denial of natural impulses" (Goldhurst, 5). After accepting the girdle Gawain must decide if he will make the green choice to keep the girdle for himself, using it for protection against the Green Knight, or will he make the gold and honorable choice, following the rules of the game and presenting the girdle to Bertilak. Gawain makes the green choice which is why by the end of the story the girdle becomes a symbol of shame for Gawain.

Goldhurst, William. “The Green and the Gold: The Major Theme of Gawain and the Green Knight.” College English, vol. 20, no. 2, 1958, pp. 61–65. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/372161. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.

One of the most common explanations for the Green Knight's appearance is that the color green use to symbolize death, meaning the Green Knight is also a symbol of death as Gawain believes he will die a year after meeting the Knight. While I do not disagree with this interpretation I also think the color green is used to symbolize the Green Knight's true identity. According LitCharts, "green also is a traditional reminder of the natural world. As the poet describes the seasons, the weather, and images of hunting, the color green reappears as a symbol of nature" (LitCharts). Because the color green can symbolize activities in nature such as hunting, I think this foreshadows Gawain's meeting of Sir Bertilak, who Gawain stays with for three days and during those three days Bertilak goes on a hunt a presents his kills to Gawain. LitCharts. “The Color Green Symbol Analysis.” LitCharts, https://www.litcharts.com/lit/sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight/symbo*ls/the-color-green.

Aristophanes decided to make the heroes of his story women for several reasons, the most known and apparent reason being, that the notion of women being able to partake in politics and end a war fit the ridiculous nature of a comedy and allowed him to use gender stereotypes to point out flaws with continuing involvement in the war. The second reason being, that he wanted to criticize the war without insinuating certain political factions were to blame. Making the story centered around female heroes allowed him to remain impartial. According to author Jeffery Henderson, "The volatile political atmosphere discouraged the usual finger-pointing, and an appeal for solidarity ruled out any portrayal of embattled political factions...Through his women, Aristophanes could rebuke and advise the Athenians without appearing to be partisan, and in case the spectators should be offended they would have to admit that it was only women talking" (Henderson 13-14). Henderson, Jeffery. “Aristophanes Lysistrata.” Focus Publishing , 1988, https://doi.org/10.2307/4350367.

The mention of the three wide worlds refers to the Hindu principle of Triloka, which explains how the universie is divided. The universe consists of three Loka or worlds, heaven, earth, and the netherworld. Hindu organization of the universe is very vast and complex as each triloka consists of seven regions.<br /> Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "loka". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2010, https://www.britannica.com/topic/loka. Accessed 2 February 2023.