"Psychoanalytic literary criticism is literary criticism or literary theory that, in method, concept, or form, is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis begun by Sigmund Freud."
A literary theory that analyzes the symbolic content of a text in terms of unconscious desires and conflicts.
Key concepts of psychoanalytic theory: This involves studying the fundamental ideas of psychoanalytic theory, including the unconscious, ego, superego, and id.
Freudian psychoanalysis: This is a specific type of psychoanalytic theory that explores how the psyche functions, analyzes human behavior, and interprets the results of the analysis.
Jungian psychoanalysis: This refers to Carl Jung's school of psychoanalysis, which emphasizes the idea of individuation, where people must accept their psychological wholeness to be fulfilled.
The Oedipus complex: This is a psychoanalytic theory proposed by Sigmund Freud that describes the infantile sexual longing for the parent of the opposite sex.
Defense mechanisms: These are behaviors that protect individuals from anxiety or unpleasant emotions, such as repression, denial, and displacement.
Dreams: This refers to the Freudian interpretation of dream symbolism and the interpretation of the unconscious.
Human personality: This is an area of study that attempts to explain personal identity and behavior and how it ties in with each person's emotions and thoughts.
Archetypes: These are universal symbols that describe basic human behaviors and feelings.
Psychosexual stages: This is a series of development stages that Freud identified that describes a child's sexual development.
Symbolism: This refers to the use of symbols and associations to convey ideas, thoughts, or emotions.
Transference: This is a phenomenon in psychoanalysis where patients transfer their conflicting feelings from their personal life to their analyst.
the ego and the self: This describes the differences between personal identity and the awareness of one's existence.
gender theory: This area of study looks at how psychoanalytic theory explains gender in society and the relationships it creates.
Neo-Freudian psychoanalysis: This includes the work of contemporary psychoanalysts such as Erik Erikson, Alfred Adler, and Karen Horney, who expanded on Freud's original concepts.
Applications of psychoanalytic theory: This involves exploring how psychoanalytic concepts have been used in literature and other fields, such as art and cinema, in practice.
Freudian Psychoanalytic Criticism: This approach focuses on the theories of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. It looks for unconscious desires, symbols, and themes in literature, and examines how characters' experiences mirror those of real-life individuals.
Jungian Psychoanalytic Criticism: This type of criticism emphasizes the ideas of Carl Jung, who believed that there is a collective unconscious shared by all human beings. It emphasizes the archetypes, or universal symbolic images, that appear in literature, and examines how the author incorporates these archetypes to convey meaning.
Lacanian Psychoanalytic Criticism: Lacanian psychoanalytic criticism is based on the work of Jacques Lacan, a French psychoanalyst who believed that language both reveals and conceals the unconscious desires of the individual. This approach focuses on language and how it can open up hidden meanings, contradictions, and repressed desires in literature.
Object Relations Theory: This type of criticism emphasizes the importance of early relationships and attachments in shaping an individual's psyche. Object relations theory examines how characters in literature relate to others and how their relationships reveal their unconscious desires and motivations.
Self Psychology: Self psychology emphasizes the idea of a healthy self, which emerges from the formation of positive relationships and experiences in childhood. Self psychology examines how characters' experience and interact with their environment, and how this shapes their sense of self and their behavior.
Kleinian Psychoanalytic Criticism: This approach is based on the work of Melanie Klein, a British psychoanalyst who emphasized the importance of unconscious fantasies in shaping behavior. Kleinian psychoanalytic criticism explores the internal worlds of the characters in literature and examines how these fantasies and emotions are expressed through their actions and relationships.
Post-Freudian Psychoanalytic Criticism: This type of psychoanalytic criticism is based on the work of psychoanalysts who came after Freud. It incorporates elements of many different psychoanalytic theories and focuses on themes such as gender, race, and identity.
Feminist Psychoanalytic Criticism: This approach examines the role of gender and power in shaping our psychological development and experiences. Feminist psychoanalytic criticism seeks to understand how literary female characters have been constructed in a male-dominated society, and how they relate to themes such as sexuality, motherhood, and violence.
Queer Psychoanalytic Criticism: This type of psychoanalytic criticism explores themes of sexuality and gender identity by examining the ways in which these concepts are constructed in literature. It can focus on characters who challenge traditional gender and sexuality norms, and seeks to understand how these characters are perceived and treated by other characters or society as a whole.
"Psychoanalytic reading has been practiced since the early development of psychoanalysis itself."
"Psychoanalytic reading... has developed into a heterogeneous interpretive tradition."
"Psychoanalytic literary criticism does not constitute a unified field."
"All variants endorse, at least to a certain degree, the idea that literature... is fundamentally entwined with the psyche."
"Psychoanalytic criticism views artists, including authors, as neurotic."
"An artist escapes many of the outward manifestations and end results of neurosis by finding in the act of creating his or her art..."
"...a pathway back to sanity and wholeness."
"...the tradition of psychoanalysis begun by Sigmund Freud."
"The goal of psychoanalytic literary criticism is to uncover the unconscious desires, conflicts, and motivations of characters and authors within a literary work."
"...fundamentally entwined with the psyche."
"Yes, an artist escapes many of the outward manifestations and end results of neurosis by finding in the act of creating his or her art..."
"Psychoanalytic literary criticism believes that literature is fundamentally entwined with the psyche."
"No, psychoanalytic literary criticism does not constitute a unified field, as there are multiple interpretations and approaches within this tradition."
"Psychoanalytic literary criticism sees the act of creating art as a pathway back to sanity and wholeness."
"Psychoanalytic literary criticism is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis begun by Sigmund Freud."
"Psychoanalytic literary criticism characterizes artists, including authors, as neurotic."
"No, psychoanalytic literary criticism also views characters within a literary work as subjects for analysis."
"Psychoanalytic literary criticism has been categorized as a heterogeneous interpretive tradition."
"The goal of psychoanalytic literary criticism is to uncover the unconscious desires, conflicts, and motivations of characters and authors within a literary work."