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Psychoanalytic Summary

The chapter provides a thorough introduction to psychoanalytic criticism, explaining Freud's concepts of the id, ego, and superego and how they relate to human motivation and behavior. It discusses how psychoanalytic theory can be applied to analyze symbolism, character motivation, and narrative structure in works by Shakespeare and Gilman. The chapter also covers the uncanny and its relevance to psychoanalytic criticism of gothic and horror literature. While highlighting psychoanalytic criticism's value in understanding psychological motivations, it also notes potential drawbacks like overgeneralization and emphasis on author biography over the work itself. The chapter explores connections between psychoanalytic theory and gender studies, and emphasizes understanding the historical context of psychoanalytic theory and its flaws.

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Muhammad Iqbal
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56 views

Psychoanalytic Summary

The chapter provides a thorough introduction to psychoanalytic criticism, explaining Freud's concepts of the id, ego, and superego and how they relate to human motivation and behavior. It discusses how psychoanalytic theory can be applied to analyze symbolism, character motivation, and narrative structure in works by Shakespeare and Gilman. The chapter also covers the uncanny and its relevance to psychoanalytic criticism of gothic and horror literature. While highlighting psychoanalytic criticism's value in understanding psychological motivations, it also notes potential drawbacks like overgeneralization and emphasis on author biography over the work itself. The chapter explores connections between psychoanalytic theory and gender studies, and emphasizes understanding the historical context of psychoanalytic theory and its flaws.

Uploaded by

Muhammad Iqbal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name: Muhammad Iqbal

NIM : 2211421151
Psychoanalytic Summary
Lois Tyson's "Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide" chapter on psychoanalytic
criticism provides a thorough examination of the theoretical underpinnings and practical uses of
psychoanalytic criticism in literary analysis. The first section of the chapter introduces Sigmund
Freud's ideas of the human psyche, including the id, ego, and superego, and discusses how these
theories relate to motivation and behavior in people. It also discusses important ideas from
psychoanalytic thought, like the Oedipus complex, the unconscious, and repression. Tyson then
explains how literary works by William Shakespeare and Charlotte Perkins Gilman might be
used as instances of how psychoanalytic critique can be applied. She gives examples of how the
theory might be applied to examine symbolism, character motivation, and narrative structure.
The concept of the uncanny, or the unease brought on by something familiar becoming
unfamiliar, is also covered in this chapter, as well as how it relates to psychoanalytic criticism of
literature, particularly gothic and horror literature. Tyson highlights the value of psychoanalytic
critique in understanding the psychological and emotional motivations of characters while noting
its drawbacks, such as its propensity for overgeneralization and its emphasis on the author's
biography rather than the book itself, as well as in interpreting the underlying themes of a work.

Overall, the chapter on psychoanalytic criticism offers readers a useful starting place for further
investigation by giving a thorough and approachable introduction to the theory and its use in
literary analysis. In "Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide," the chapter on
psychoanalytic critique also explores the connection between gender studies and psychoanalysis.
The chapter explores the manner in which gender identity is created and represented, as well as
how psychoanalytic theory has been applied to analyze how gender is portrayed in literature. The
chapter also emphasizes the significance of understanding the historical and cultural environment
in which psychoanalytic theory was created, especially in light of its flaws and prejudices. Tyson
invites readers to approach the theory with a critical and reflective attitude while acknowledging
the flaws of psychoanalytic criticism, such as its emphasis on Eurocentric and patriarchal
assumptions.
In conclusion, the "Critical Theory Today" chapter on psychoanalytic criticism provides readers
with a thorough and approachable introduction to the theory and its use in literary analysis. In-
depth discussions of the theoretical underpinnings of psychoanalytic criticism are provided in this
chapter, along with examples of how it can be used to examine character motivation, symbolism,
and narrative structure. The chapter emphasizes the value of psychoanalytic criticism in
comprehending the psychological and emotional motivations of characters as well as identifying
the fundamental themes of a work while accepting its limitations and flaws.

Meanwhile, on another Literary Criticism book reference “An Introduction to Theory and
Practice” by Charles E. Bressler, there is also explanation of psychoanalytic provided. There,
beside Freud’s theory that has been exposed as previous explanation, there is also another view of
psychoanalytic view by Jacques Lacan. Lacan declares that "the unconscious is structured like a
language," in contrast to Freud, who claimed that the unconscious is chaotic and unstructured. And
Lacan looks to Saussure to learn about language structure. Lacan rejects Saussure's fundamental
tenet that language is stable, i.e., that a word or symbol denotes a single entity, through a series of
linguistic arguments. Lacan believes that language becomes primarily figurative and the only
mechanism by which a person can describe themselves. There are no absolutes outside of language
itself, according to Lacan. He claims that because dreams are organized according to language
principles, they may be studied scientifically.

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