EL113

• Topic Outline


  • Psychoanalytic Criticism
  • Feminist Criticism
  • New Criticism
  • Lesbian, Gay, and Queer Criticism
• Psychoanalytic Criticism


  Focus on the mind-body connection to personality
• Sigmund Freud


  • Born in 1856 in Austria, was a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalytic theory
  • His theories on the unconscious mind, the Oedipus complex, and the id, ego, and superego have had a significant impact on literary criticism
• Unconscious mind


  Contains thoughts, feelings, and desires that are not accessible to our conscious awareness, but nonetheless influence our behavior and perceptions
• In literature, the unconscious mind can be seen in the symbols and imagery used by authors, as well as in the actions and motivations of their characters
• One's inability to face reality can be interpreted as a manifestation of her repressed desires and traumatic experiences
• We need to understand what happens to us inside
• Things that happen to people during childhood can contribute to the way they later function as adults
• Id, Ego, Superego


  The three different parts of personality that interact to influence the decisions a person makes and how that person behaves
• Id


  Seeks instant gratification and pleasure
• Superego


  Seeks to follow the rules of society and morality
• Ego


  In a constant struggle to balance the id and superego
• We need to learn how to manage these concepts
• Characters who struggle with their inner conflicts and desires can be analyzed through psychoanalytic theory to uncover repressed emotions and desires
• Dream analysis


  Dreams are symbolic representations of our deepest desires, fears, and anxieties, and can reveal important insights into our psyche
• Manifest content


  Actual matter of the dream
• Latent content


  Underlying meaning of the dream
• Dreams are a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep
• Sources of dreams include stimuli from the external world, subjective experiences, organic stimuli within the body, and mental activities during sleep
• Dream symbols


  Usually serve the purpose of telling the dreamer what he or her life needs to improve or achieve
• Endocrine glands include the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands (including the adrenal medulla), pancreas, ovaries/testes, and pineal gland.