Psychoanalytics criticism

PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM

Literary Criticism

HOW DID IT STARTED?

•Sigmund Freud• An Austrian Psychoanalyst •He revised the Psychoanalytic criticism into the modern P. Criticism.

THE TRADITIONAL PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM

• Before 1950’s, the traditional psychoanalytic criticism views and focus on the author’s psyche rather than the readers.• In the 1950, modern P. C. gloomed carrying the ideologies of Freud.• “Literary Works are read—sometimes unconvincingly as fantasies that allowed authors to indulge repressed wishes, to protect themselves from deep seated anxieties or both.

THE NEW P. CRITICISM

• Freud felt that P. C. should instead focus on the way the authors create literary works to appeal to the readers’ repressed wishes and fantasies.•Here we are going to consider the three Psychic Apparatus: the Id, Ego and Superego• The New P. C. also deals with symbols and imagery of the text.

Ego• An inflated feeling of pride in your

superiority to others.• Your consciousness of your own

identity.• The conscious mind.

Superego• that part of the unconscious mind

that acts as a conscience

ID• primitive instincts and energies

underlying all psychic activity

QUESTIONS ASKED:

• What forces are motivating the characters?• Which behaviors of the characters are conscious ones?• Which are unconscious?• What conscious or unconscious conflicts exist between

the characters? • Given their backgrounds, how plausible is the

characters’ behavior?

• Are the theories of Freud or other psychologists applicable to this work? To what degree?•Do any of the characters correspond to the parts of the tripartite self? (Id, ego, superego)•What roles do psychological disorders and dreams play in this story?• Are the characters recognizable psychological types?

• How might a psychological approach account for different responses in female and male readers?• How does the work reflect the writer’s personal

psychology?• What do the characters’ emotions and behaviors reveal

about their psychological states?• How does the work reflect the unconscious dimensions

of the writer’s mind?• How does the reader’s own psychology affect his

response to the work?

ADVANTAGES TO THE PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

• This is a very useful tool for understanding literary works in which the characters have obvious psychological issues. •Having insight into a writers psychological state can give readers a greater understanding of their work.• Psychological literary criticism is easily applied to works that are highly symbolic.

•Repression of the characters’ sexual desire •Id, ego, and super-ego reveal character•Examine character action•Shows complexity of characters’ relationships

DISADVANTAGES TO THE PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

•With all the focus on the psychological aspect, the actual piece can end up being ignored.•Critics can try to diagnose dead authors writing and end up as not the best evidence for psychology. •The art in the piece can end up being completely overlooked with all the other analysis.

•Characters’ intentions exaggerate a sexual message•Characters’ actions conflict with different ideas•Reader digs too deeply into characters’ motives