This study investigates the characterisation of Saul, David, and God within certain passages of 1 and 2 Samuel (1 Sam 9:1-10:16; 10:17-27; 11:1-15; 19:18-24; 24:1-8; 2 Sam 6). While this topic is not new, the Bakhtinian approach will provide a new angle to interpret the material. The premise of this dissertation will be the application of Mikhail Bakhtin’s notion of carnival to these passages from the Books of Samuel. This notion of carnival has had limited discussion in relation to the Books of Samuel. Mikhail Bakhtin will therefore form the foundation of the methodology being used – employing especially the text which that outlines this carnivalesque approach, Rabelais and His World. The overall methodological background of this thesis will be a narrative critical one, with a specific emphasis on the carnival as a theme or perspective through which the text will be analysed. In terms of particular characters in the Books of Samuel that will be discussed, Saul will form the nucleus of interest alongside the characters of God and David, who will be discussed in light of this carnival method. In a Bakhtinian reading, Saul can be viewed as the clown, God as the cosmic terror and David as the fulfilment of the carnival parade.