Gargantua and Pantagruel: A Philosophical Encyclopedia Beneath the Mask of Jest

One of the invaluable masterpieces of world literature — the French writer François Rabelais's novel cycle "Gargantua and Pantagruel" — serves as the subject of research for this article. The study analyzes the work's compositional structure and ideological-artistic content from a scholarly perspective. Through the characters of Gargantua and Pantagruel and their varied adventures, the article reveals the author's critical attitude toward the society, educational system, and religious-moral views of his era. The distinctive feature of the work lies in the fact that, although it appears outwardly full of humor and jest, this light style skillfully conceals profound philosophical, pedagogical, and social meaning beneath it. The article concludes with scholarly conclusions regarding the work's place in the development of world literature and its significance for the present day.