Firstly it is a school of psychology, which emphasises psychic determinism and dynamics. A guide to psychoanalytic criticism a research guide for. Psychoanalysis is the process of using what we know about these three parts of someones personality to analyze the ways that person. Looking into ones psyche, these unknown occurrences become clear as well as the motives behind them. First laid out by sigmund freud in the late 19th century, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work. In this field of literary criticism, the major concepts of psychoanalytic theory, such as the idea of an unconscious and conscious mind, the divisions of the id, ego, and superego, and the oedipus complex, are applied to literature to gain a deeper understanding of that work. Pdf a psychoanalytical approach to diogenes syndrome. Remember, psychoanalysis is a therapy as well as a theory. The proposed work titled psychoanalytic theory used in english literature. Considered one of the forefathers of psychology, freud is the founder of psychoanalysis. This type of literary criticism uses symbolism and other forms of analysis to get at the latent content.
With all of the theories and disciplines sporting the psycho prefix, its easy to get them confused. Peterson mentions the austrian psychologist that sigmund freud states. But with the emergence of psychoanalysis as a distinct clinical practice, both terms came to describe that. Finally, a psychoanalytical reading can examine the reader and how a literary work is interpreted according to the psychological needs of the reader. Psychodynamic theory and psychoanalytic theory have quite a bit in common. The psychoanalytical theory considers the literary text as artist symptoms in which both author and text established a relationship, which is synonymous with a relationship between dreams and dreamers. We examine this approach in detail in chapter 6 writing about readers. Death of a salesman a psychoanalytic analysis english. What are the main features of psychoanalytic literary. Freud began his psychoanalytic work in the 1880s while attempting to treat behavioral disorders in his viennese patients. One of the keystones in psychoanalytic theory is the concept of the unconscious.
Sigmund freud described psychoanalysis as a phenomenon of the 20 th century, also acknowledging the works of the 19 th century precursors. Freuds psychodynamic structure of personality suggests that our behaviour is influenced by id, ego and superego. One of the most interesting approaches in this respect is the psychoanalytical approach. Psychoanalytic theory, founded by sigmund freud during the twentieth century as a means to evaluate and cure mentally disturbed patients, lurks beneath the surface of traditional fairy tales, barely hidden. In this field of literary criticism, the major concepts of psychoanalytic theory, such as the idea of an unconscious and conscious mind, the divisions of the id, ego, and. The interpretation of the character of shakespeares hamlet, and of the play itself, as that of an oedipus situation, is a logical result of the fundamental prin ciples of psychoanalytic psychology. Psychoanalytic literary criticism is literary criticism or literary theory which, in method, concept, or form, is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis begun by sigmund freud psychoanalytic reading has been practiced since the early development of psychoanalysis itself, and has developed into a heterogeneous interpretive tradition. Psychoanalytic definition of psychoanalytic by the free. Psychoanalysis is commonly used to treat depression and anxiety disorders.
Psychoanalytic and psychoanalytical are used in english. It was a triumph for the interpretative art of psychoanalysis when it succeeded in demonstrating that certain common mental acts of. Examinerexamined, analystanalysand, subjectobject, sanemad, scienceart. By creating a fictional representation, the author is able to explore an array of concepts in a nonthreatening venue. Psychoanalytic literary criticism is literary criticism or literary theory which, in method, concept, or form, is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis begun by sigmund freud. This paper is an attempt at understanding the psychoanalytical approach to literature and its application in shakespeares hamlet. It focuses on theauthors state of mind or the state of the mind of fictional characters. Although both are still used, today, the normal adjective is psychoanalytic. Psychoanalytical criticism takes a look at all these psychological occurrences. The goal of this technique is to understand the unconscious symbols and desires through interpretation of the more obvious content. Apr 28, 2020 one technique in psychoanalytic literary criticism is to treat a work of literature as though it is a dream. In a sense, the psychoanalyst and patient create a relationship where all the patients transference experiences are brought into the psychoanalytic setting and can be understood.
Much of the emphasis of psychoanalytical criticism is to read, in literature, sexuality and three major elements of literary discourse. When these stories are read in freudian terms of latent and manifest content, as described in the interpretation of dreams, its possible to read familiar narratives as. Carl jungs contribution to psychoanalytic theory by nasrullah mambrol on april 27, 2016 3. Psychoanalytic theory came to full prominence in the last third of the twentieth. Home literary criticism carl jungs contribution to psychoanalytic theory. The cambridge introduction to literature and psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic theory literary and critical theory oxford. Psychoanalytic theory is the theory of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that guides psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology. A thesis submitted to the school of graduate studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of arts mcmaster university august 1977. The contents of our unconscious can give us a neurosis, which is an anxiety state that affects the quality of your life. Such instruction even at second hand, will place you in quite an unusual position for forming a judgment.
The prestwick house elesson psychoanalytical approach to the picture of dorian gray comes from the picture of dorian gray multiple perspectives unit and includes discussion notes, activities, and essential questions to guide a psychoanalytical reading of the original text pages. Psychoanalysis was founded by sigmund freud 18561939. Psychoanalytic theory applied to a streetcar named desire. It argues that literary texts, like dreams, express the secret unconscious desires and anxieties of the author, that a literary work is a manifestation of the authors own neuroses. While we dont have the room here to discuss all of freuds work, a general overview is necessary to explain psychoanalytic literary criticism. Death of a salesman a psychoanalytic analysis english literature essay. Not all of the early critics were committed to the approach. The psychological principles which are used in psychoanalytic literary criticism were mainly developed by sigmund freud and jacques lacan. Psychoanalytic theory literary and critical theory. Psychoanalysis worked, instead, to bring patients repressed memories and wishes to the surface. Sigismund schlomo freud 18561939, was an austrian neurologist usually credited with creating psychoanalytic theory and, by extension, psychiatric therapy.
It is necessarily dependent on the accept ance of the presence of. Psychoanalytic criticism psychoanalytic criticism adopts the methods of reading employed by freud and later theorists to interpret texts. Mannoni octave 1969 clefs pour limaginaire ou lautre scene, paris, ed. Psychoanalytical criticism is a type ofcriticism that uses theories of psychology to analyze literature. There are three popular approaches used in this criticism. As in dreams, the content of these images is much more important that the precise wording of the story. In its first part from 1st to 28th lecture freud enthusiastically outlines his approach to the. Psychoanalysis is the process of using what we know about these three parts of someones personality to analyze the ways that person behaves.
Dec 20, 20 psychoanalysis can be applied to literature in the same way it is applied to dreams. Psychoanalytic literary criticism can simply be defined as an approach to literature which aims to apply some of the techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literary works. A philosopher, psychoanalyst and a disciple of freud, cg jung treated the human self as the totality of all psychic processes considering the freudian concept of individual consciousness as incomplete and. Since its inception with the groundbreaking works of freud, psychoanalytic theory has branched out from freuds clinical, ontogenetic, and metapsychological concerns to inform theoretical work on art, politics, society, religion, and literature. Richards, kenneth burke, and edmund wilson were among the most influential to become interested in the new approach. The prestwick house elesson psychoanalytical approach to beloved comes from the beloved multiple perspectives unit and includes discussion notes, activities, and essential questions to guide a psychoanalytical reading of the original text 15 pages. A keen approach of the links between literature and psychoanalysis by an analyst and an literary scholar. A descriptive study aims to explore where psychoanalysis has been used by the authors in hisher literary works in english literature. Ultimately, any type of literature from poetry to prose acts as a manifestation of an authors internal desires and thoughts. Psychoanalytic analysis students teaching english paper. Psychoanalytic reading has been practiced since the early development of psychoanalysis itself, and has developed into a heterogeneous interpretive tradition. Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining insight the aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed emotions and experiences, i. Freud together with his colleague josef breuer wrote studies on hysteria 1895 which is a collection of five case histories of women suffering from reminiscences and also explains the facts that women fears and phobias, hallucinations and physical symptoms.
An introduction to psychoanalytic criticism sigmund freud is the author of the structural model of personality. Psychodynamic refers to all psychological theories of human functioning and personality and can be traced back to. You will get to know psychoanalysis, in the strictest sense of the word, only by hearsay. As a school of psychology it also emphasises the importance of childhood experiences in moulding ones adult personality and behaviour. Psychoanalytic literary criticism is a way of analyzing and interpreting literary works that relies on psychoanalytic theory.
Some followed alfred adler, who believed that writers wrote out of inferiority complexes, and others applied the. The aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed emotions and experiences, i. Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining insight. Psychoanalytical criticism in hamlet there is a whole lot that goes on inside our bodies and minds that most of us are unaware are even occurring. Also, psychoanalytical criticism deals with different levels of consciousness. Pdf psychoanalytical theory in literary criticism debbie. The cambridge introduction to literature and psychoanalysis th is volume is an introduction to the relationship between psychoanalysis and literature. Psychoanalysis is the process of using what we know about. Dreamlike, shifting in nature and purpose, fairy tales are often an arbitrary collection of images more than a clear and linear narrative. Psychoanalytic criticism in literature english summary. Freud believed that eventually, the girls spurned advances toward the father give way to a desire to possess a man like her father later in life. Freud believed that unconscious sexual drives were the basis for all human behavior.
A psychoanalytical approach to harold pinters plays. Psychoanalytic feminist thought has also followed another route, i. What are the main features of psychoanalytic literary criticism. Psychoanalytic therapy is a form of talking therapy based on the theories of sigmund freud. A streetcar named desire perspectives notes on the psychoanalytic theory.
Literary theories session 6 psychology of literature. Psychoanalytical criticism in hamlet freebooksummary. A psychoanalytical reading of emily brontes wuthering heights. Freud believed that the impact of the unconscious, id, ego, superego, the defenses, and the oedipus complex was inescapable and that these elements of the mind influence all our behavior and even. A psychoanalytical approach to literature wormhoudt, arthur, bergler, edmund on. A psychoanalytic study of form in the great gats by by donna lynn moder, b. Joan riviere in her essay discusses three case studies which have in common the fact that women who wish for masculinity may put up a mask of womanliness to avert anxiety and the retribution feared from men. But unconscious motives and desires always remained at the end of this treatment, which aimed to explore rather than do away with the unconscious. The approach explores how the unconscious mind influences thoughts and behaviours, with the aim of offering insight and resolution to the person seeking therapy. For it is obvious that everything depends on the faith you are able to put in the instructor. To be sure, this much i may presume that you do know, namely, that psychoanalysis is a method of treating nervous patients medically. Later, the postfreudian psychoanalytic theorists remolded the approach called readerresponse criticism.
Doing this, freud said, would make patients able to work through these memories and wishes. The latter is the older term, and at first simply meant relating to the analysis of the human psyche. A psychoanalytic criticism argues that an authors unconscious desires and anxieties can be found in literary texts. The psychoanalytic approach to make the dreamstory from which wonderland was elaborated seem freudian one only has to tell it. Psychology of literature the ppy g ysychological study of the writer, as type and as individual psychology of the author the study of creative process h d f h l i l the study of psychological types and laws present within works of literature psychology of the characters literary study in its strictest sense. Psychoanalytic theory is a branch of literary criticism which was built on the principles of psychoanalysis developed by sigmund freud 18561939. The psychoanalytic movement soon divided on geographical and conceptual lines. This is not an example of the work produced by our essay writing service. Of all the critical approaches to literature, this has been one of the. Psychodynamic refers to all psychological theories of human functioning and personality and can be traced back to freuds original formulation of psychoanalysis. Applying readerresponse theory on readerresponse criticism. The psychoanalytic treatment setting is designed to magnify transference phenomena so that they can be examined and untangled from present day relationships.