Marc Joshua Quidilla
ENG4U1
Mr. Augustus Momodu
Psychoanalytic Criticism
Psychoanalytic Critism is a literary criticism which is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis begun by Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud is one of the famost names in psychology even though most of his ideas have been abandoned by modem psychology his psychoanalytic theory formed the basis for many current psychodynamic theories. Frued was the first to discuss the unconscious mind and its role in human behavior.
Freud believed that there were three levels of consciousness. First, is the unconscious mind which exists outside of your awareness at all times. Next, is the pre-conscious mind which includes all information that you’re not currently aware of, but that can be recalled. Finally, the conscious mind is your current state of awareness. For example, remember the cartoons you used to watch as a child, the main character is confronted with a choice on his left shoulder is a little devil pushing him toward a bad choice and on his right shoulder is a little angel is encouraging him to make a good choice. He is stuck in the middle and forced to make a decision that will affect him.
This scenario is much like Freud’s theory of personality. There are three parts of personality according to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. These are the Id, Super-ego, and Ego. The Id is the first to develop, the ego is second and the super-ego is the last to develop.
The Id is the biological component of the personality and include your instincts. The Id operates in our unconscious mind. It is like the devil sitting on that cartoon character shoulder that’s always selfish and needy. It operates according to the pleasure principle. The pleasure principle is the idea that all of your needs should be met immediately.
Then, there’s the super-ego. The super-ego exists in all three levels of consciousness. The super-ego is like the little angel it’s always concerned with what is socially acceptable. The super-ego pushes you to obtain the ego ideal or your view what is right. It also represents your conscience or your view of what is considered to be wrong.
Finally, we have the ego, The ego operates in your preconscious in conscious mind. The ego is part of the personality that makes your decision. This is like the cartoon character in the example. The ego is in the middle makes the decision and faces the consequences. The ego operates according to the reality principle, the idea that the desires of the Id must be satisfied in a method that is both socially appropriate and realistic.
To Freud, dreams are the “royal road” to the personal unconscious of the dreamer and have a direct relation to literature, which often has the structure of a dream. Psychoanalytic Criticism is a literary theory that analyzes symbols in text to understand the psychological state of characters and the author, to determine their unconscious motivations and actions.
Jacques Lacan, a disciple of Freud, was influen...
