Psychoanalytic Criticism
Psychoanalytic criticism is defined as “a form of literary criticism which uses some of the techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature. Psychoanalysis itself is a form therapy which aims to cure mental disorders ‘by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind’” (Barry, 92). In other words, it is an approach in which literature is analyzed from a psychological standpoint and the analyzer aims to “investigate” the reasons behind the character’s or characters’ actions.
Psychoanalysis is classically carried out by having “the patient talk freely, in such a way that the repressed fears and conflicts which are causing the problems are ...
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unconscious. The ‘idea of repression’, is linked to this, and is “ ‘forgetting’ or ignoring of unresolved conflicts, unadmitted desires, or traumatic past events, so that they are forced out of conscious awareness and into the realm of the unconscious. A similar process is [called] sublimation, whereby the repressed material is “promoted” into something grander or is disguised as something ‘noble’” (Barry, 92-3). Sublimation can be alternatively defined as “a defense mechanism where undesired or unacceptable impulses are transformed into behaviors which are accepted by society.” “For instance, sexual urges may be given sublimated expression in the form of intense religious experiences or longings” or an individual “experiencing extreme anger might take up kick-boxing as a means of venting frustration” Freud also “suggested a three-part…model of the psyche, dividing it into the ego, super-ego, and the id, these three ‘levels’ of personality roughly corresponding to, ...
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such mechanism is projection, when aspects of ourselves (usually negative ones) are not recognized as part of ourselves but are perceived on or attributed to another; our own desires or antagonisms, for instance, may be ‘disowned’ in this way” (Barry, 93-4)”. To illustrate, “if [one has] have a strong dislike for someone, [they] might instead believe that he or she does not like [them]” “Both these might be seen as defense mechanisms, that is as psychic procedures for avoiding painful admissions recognitions” (Barry, 94).
“Another such is screen memory, which is a trivial or inconsequential memory whose function is to obliterate a more significant one. A well-known example of ...
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"Psychoanalytic Criticism." Essayworld.com. April 27, 2011. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Psychoanalytic-Criticism/98529.
"Psychoanalytic Criticism." Essayworld.com. April 27, 2011. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Psychoanalytic-Criticism/98529.
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