Psychoanalytic Criticism

Psychoanalytic Criticism Defined

When discussing Psychoanalytic Criticism, Freud is an important figure to discuss. While many of his ideas are not practical and he is not held with much respect in the psychology community, some of his ideals can be used to critique text.

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“The hidden meaning of a fantasy or dream, discoverable by analysis of the content of the dream.”

Condensation

“The phenomenon of “condensation” according to Freud is the result of two or more incidents of displacement.”

Displacement

“When a person shifts his/her impulses from an unacceptable target to a more acceptable or less threatening target”

Death Drive

“Freud proposed that humans have a life instinct and a death instinct.”

Superego/Ego/Id

“The id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories, the super-ego operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego.”

Core Issues

-Fear of abandonment

-Fear of betrayal

-Low self-esteem

-Insecure/unstable sense of self

-Oedipal complex

The Subconscious

The subconscious is an ideal that was made popular by Freud. While this is not an ideal that he created himself, it became one that was considered after he brought attention to it. The subconscious is described as a part of the mind that is similar to the submerged part of an iceberg. You can see what’s on the surface, but there is much that is not clear. This is important to understand when critiquing literature, in order to understand why a character behaves a certain way, when even they may not know for sure.

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Reflection

Freud may not be the greatest in regards to psychology, however we can use many of his ideals to help us critique texts. When we see characters exhibiting certain behaviors, we can psychoanalyze and create a deeper understanding. In addition, we will be able to recognize when characters are behaving in a self-destructive manner and understand the potential reasons why through his idea of death drive. Also, through recognizing the core issues and identifying why the character is dealing with them, we will be able to critique the text more efficiently as well.

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