Raquel Jordá Bresó 25
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PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM
The Psychological
criticism is based upon the theories of the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939), the analysis of Carl G. Jung (1871-1961) and the psychoanalysis of
Jacques Lacan (1901-1981) (Asensi. p.526).
First of all, we have to
distinguish between the different methods critics use when analysing a poem
from the point of view of one of these three slowly-different theorists.
Freud’s theory that the human mind
is divided into three psychic forces (ID – EGO – SUPEREGO) (Guerin. p.120),
three different levels of consciousness and that “la literatura (or poetry) obedece al mismo principio
que los sueños, a la necesidad de expresar un material psíquico reprimido ante
la presión de una realidad excesivamente intolerante” (Asensi. p.532-40) makes
the critic seek those elements in the text that tell us about the author’s
mental frustrations, desires – especially those of sexual connotation – and how
does s/he put them down in the text in order to discover the unconscious
material of his/her mind. So we have to start from the idea “that literary
criticism is about books and psychoanalysis is about minds. Therefore, the
psychoanalytic critic can only talk about the minds associated with the book.”
(
On the other hand,
although he is a student and a follower of Freud’s theories, we find Carl G.
Jung Criticism on Sigmund’s Freud psychoanalysis applied to poetry.
Carl G. Jung states that
Freud was obsessed with repressions of the sexual instinct and that he treated
the ‘ID’ as something particular and individual, whereas Jung believed in what
he called the ‘collective unconscious’. This unconscious is made up of
‘archetypes’ and as it (the unconscious) is not individual but universal, every
person has these archetypes although when they appear as part of the consciousness they are seen in a different
way by each individual (Asensi. p.567-8).
Then when analysing a
poem, critics following Jung’s statements may have into account that he thought
the poetic work as “(una) actividad psicológica” (Asensi. p.571) and that we
have to “sustraerla del espacio de lo personal, de la relación causal entre
patología o motivo individual y la obra literaria” (Asensi. p.572). It is not a
symbol of the individual’s frustrations but a representation on that collective unconscious. So we have to
look for those archetypes in the text that show us these elements and symbols
encrypted in the ‘collective ID’ of the society and reflected in the individual
through his/her work.
Eventually the third
psychologist, Jacques Lacan, feels closer to Freud’s theories than Carl G.
Jung. However, he proposes another model of the psyche. For him it is composed
by the IMAGINARY, SYMBOLIC and REAL stages (Siegel). Here “Lacan reinterprets
Freud in light of structuralist and post-structuralist theories, turning
psychoanalysis from an essentially humanist philosophy or theory into a
post-structuralist one.” (Klages) Moreover, the influence of J. Lacan and his
structuring of the unconsciousness as something “sujeto a unas leyes de esencia
lingüística” (Asensi. p.580), makes the critic look for those elements in the
structure of the text that are symbols of what is really ‘imaginary’ and try to
find out how this ‘unknown’ material is structured.
As some scholars say,
later psychological critics will go further to find not only this kind of
elements but also fantastic, mythological elements or other sort of symbols,
(Norman) found not only in the vocabulary of the text but also in its
structure.
In my opinion, the most
applied psychological model to analyse poetry or other literary work is that of
Sigmund Freud. Some good poems in which we could put into practice his theories
are that of Ted Hughes or that of his wife Sylvia Plath, who really suffered
from a mental disease – depression – caused mainly by her father’s death when
she was eight (Wikipedia).
Nonetheless, this
approach to poetry can be applied to any poem from any time if we want to learn
more about the poem and its author.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Pérez, Manuel Asensi- “Psicoanálisis y Literatura.” Hª de la teoría de la literatura vol.2 (el
siglo XX hasta los años setenta). Ed. Tirant Lo Blanch.
- Guerin,
Wilfred L. et al. “The Psychological Approach: Freud.” A
Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 3rd ed. Ed.
Oxford.
-
< http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/nnh/mindbook.htm
>
- Introduction to
Modern Literary Theory. Dr. Kristi Siegel (Associate
Professor, English Dept. Chair - Languages, Literature, and Communication
Division) siegelkr@core.com 22 – May – 2006
< http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm#psycho
>
- Lacan.Lec. Jacques Lacan. Dr. Mary Klages
(Associate Professor of English) http://www.colorado.edu/English/ENGL2012Klages/lacan.html
23 - May - 2006
-
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Life of Sylvia Plath. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 23 – May
– 2006 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath
>