Oedipus complex—
the childhood wish to displace the parent of one’s own sex and take his or her place in the affections of the parent of the opposite sex
Elements from myths are interpreted as symbolic representations of this complex
The Three Principles
The Freudian view is that the three parts of the mind compete for superiority. Contemporary thinkers believe the id, ego and superego coexist as partners
Conflicting Desires:Thantos & Eros
Libido (Sexual drive) The contents of the unconscious mind consist primarily of repressed sexual desires. These desires, said Freud, are natural and insistentDeath Drive is the body's instinct to return to our dormant, pre-birth state. Freud said this drive causes us to be compulsively drawn to pain and trauma
Manifest Dream
•The manifest content of a dream is what the dreamer remembers about the dream
Most dreams occur during REM sleep in the second half of the night
Latent Dream Meaning
The real, hidden meaning of the dream is called "the latent dream"
•Freud believes that dreams are a vehicle to express feelings unacceptable to society.
Displacement
An element of dreamwork which shifts emotion from one idea to the other; often using metaphor
In language, metonomy replaces one the whole idea with a part
Freudian Slip (Parapraxes)
A mistake in speech or action in which a person shows his or her true subconscious desires: there are no accidents
Jokes always indicate hidden desires
Psychoanalysis today
Has been discredited as a form of therapy as being ineffective
Freud is praised for starting psychotherapy; however psychoanalysis has virtually disappeared from the medical world …
… except in …
France – the last bastion of psychoanalysis
Psychoanalitic Criticism
Explores the author’s subconscious and unconscious mind
Appeals to the reader’s subconscious desires
What wishes and desires might be in Hamlet's unconscious mind?
Eros?
Thanatos?
How might Hamlet's desiresManifest themselves?
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