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Into the woods…

Into the woods…. Into the woods…. PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERARY CRITICISM. An introduction. Pyschological Literary Criticism.

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Into the woods…

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  1. Into the woods… Into the woods…

  2. PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERARY CRITICISM An introduction

  3. Pyschological Literary Criticism A broad term for the various types of literary theory that focus on the inner workings of the human psyche and the ways in which they manifest themselves in literature, with special attention paid to the unstated motives and unconscious states of mind in characters, authors, and readers (Gardner et al 1448).

  4. FREUDIAN/JUNGIAN MODELS FREUDIAN/JUNGIAN MODELS Sigmund Freud (1856-1938) Carl Jung (1875-1961)

  5. Freudian Psychodynamics • Concerned with psychic attachments, conflicts, and motivations • Unconscious thoughts and feelings • Displacing; denial; repression; regression • Unconscious reveals itself in art, dreams, jokes, apparent accidents, and verbal slips • Theory of Personality • Id, Ego, Superego

  6. Theory of Personality • The Id: motives to avoid pain and obtain pleasure; the Life (sexual) instinct and the Death (aggressive) instinct; impulse. • The Ego: filter between the needs of instinct and demands of society; limits on desire and aggression; “reason and good sense.” • The Superego: morality and parental authority; conscience.

  7. “I can take that turn at 80mph…” “If I don’t brake soon, I’m in trouble…” “Perhaps I should slow down, I could really hurt somebody…”

  8. Theory of the Collective Unconscious • Common to all cultures; necessary for species survival; passed on like genes. • Archetypes: Universal memories, symbols, images, and themes through which humans channel experiences and emotions, resulting in recognizable and typical patterns. • Shadow, Self, Anima, Animus, Persona.

  9. Classical Archetypes of the Unconscious • The Shadow: prehistoric fear of wild animals, danger; represents the bestial, evil side of human nature. • The Self: the regulating center of the psyche. • The Anima: the feminine in man. • The Animus: the masculine in woman. • Balance; “totality of self.” • The Persona: how we present to the world.

  10. How can all this be applied to literature? • Buried significance. • Subconscious (unstated) motivation for action. • Overt vs. covert (or manifest vs. latent) desires. • Internal lives of characters. • Special attention paid to symbols as manifestations of deeper hidden meaning. • The influence of archetypes on plot and character.

  11. Create Your Own Story • Write a maximum one-page scenario in which you tell a personal dilemma that can be interpreted according to Freudian or Jungian psychoanalytic terminology. • 15 points for the for the clear delineation of the concepts • 15 narrative detail • 10 conventions: commas, semi-colons, parallelism.

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