ENG2.1: Understanding Literary Lenses: Psychological Lens

Bias

A prejudice or preference that causes someone to view a topic, person, or issue in a one-sided or unfair way.

Literary Lens

A perspective or approach used to analyze and interpret a text. Different lenses focus on different aspects of literature and can reveal different meanings, themes, and biases.

Literary Lenses (Literary Theories)

Analytical perspectives used to examine literature by each focusing on different aspects of a text. Applying multiple lenses can broaden understanding, deepen interpretation, and help identify assumptions or biases within a text and within the reader. There is no definite list of lenses, and no single lens can be used for all literature.

The 6 Literary Lenses

Use the mnemonic, Proud Penguins Sing Great Classical Anthems: Personal Response, Psychological, Socio-economic, Gender, Culture, and Archetype.

Personal Response Lens

A literary lens that interprets a text based on the reader's personal experiences, emotions, values, and beliefs. Different readers may find different meanings in the same text.

Psychological Lens (Psychoanalytic Criticism)

A literary lens that examines the thoughts, motivations, emotions, desires, and behaviours of characters. It often draws on psychological theories, such as those of Sigmund Freud, to explore the conscious and unconscious mind.

Sigmund Freud

An Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a theory that explores how unconscious thoughts, desires, and experiences influence human behaviour. Born on May 6, 1856 and died on September 23 1939. He began developing psychoanalytic theory in the 1880s.

Freudian Psychoanalysis

A theory developed by Sigmund Freud that argues human behaviour is influenced by unconscious desires, fears, memories, and conflicts, many of which originate in childhood. According to Freud, people may repress painful thoughts and memories and use defense mechanisms such as denial, projection, and selective memory to cope with them. Freudian psychoanalysis is often used in literary criticism to analyze characters' motivations and unconscious conflicts.

Jung's 4 Main Archetypes

According to Jung, four major archetypes of the psyche (human mind) are: the Persona, Anima/Animus, Shadow, and Self.

Id

The unconscious part of the mind that contains instinctive desires and seeks immediate gratification of needs and wants.

Ego

The rational part of the mind that mediates between the desires of the id, the demands of reality, and social expectations.

Superego

The part of the mind associated with morality, values, and conscience. It judges actions according to internalized social and ethical standards.

Oedipus Complex

A concept proposed by Freud in which a young child develops unconscious feelings of attachment toward the opposite-sex parent and rivalry toward the same-sex parent. Freud believed that resolving this conflict was an important stage of psychological development. The term is primarily used in psychoanalytic theory and literary criticism and is not widely accepted in modern psychology. The adjective form of this complex is Oedipal. The theory does not account well for same-sex parents or single-parent households.

Carl Jung

A Swiss psychiatrist and former colleague of Sigmund Freud who developed analytical psychology. Born on July 26, 1875 and died on June 6, 1961. Like Freud, Jung believed the unconscious mind plays a major role in human behaviour, but he emphasized universal symbols, myths, and archetypes.

Collective Unconscious

A concept developed by Carl Jung referring to a shared layer of the unconscious mind containing universal memories, symbols, and patterns inherited by all humans. Jung believed many myths, stories, and archetypes emerge from this.

Jung's 4 Main Archetypes

According to Jung, four major archetypes of the psyche (human mind) are: the Persona, Anima/Animus, Shadow, and Self.

Persona

The social mask or public identity a person presents to the world, often shaped by social expectations and roles.

Animus/Anima

Archetypes representing traditionally feminine and masculine qualities within the unconscious mind. Jung described the anima as the feminine aspect of a man's psyche and the animus as the masculine aspect of a woman's psyche.

Shadow

The unconscious aspect of the personality containing traits, desires, impulses, and emotions that a person rejects, hides, or does not fully acknowledge.

Self

The archetype representing the unified and complete person. It reflects the integration of the conscious and unconscious parts of the psyche and the achievement of self-understanding.

Socio-economic Lens

A literary lens that analyzes a text in relation to social and economic structures, including class, wealth, power, and inequality. It often considers how society is organized and is influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Gender Lens

A literary lens that examines how gender is represented in a text, including gender roles, identities, stereotypes, and power relations between genders.

Culture Lens

A literary lens that interprets a text in relation to the cultural, historical, political, and social context in which it was written. It may also consider the author’s background and how culture influences meaning.

Archetype Lens

A literary lens that analyzes texts using universal patterns, symbols, characters, and situations that represent shared human experiences. Common archetypes include the hero, mentor, and trickster, as well as recurring patterns such as journeys and death–rebirth cycles.

Narrative Structure

The organizational framework of a story, typically consisting of Exposition/Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Denouement/Resolution.

Exposition/Introduction

The beginning of a story where the setting, atmosphere, characters, and basic situation are introduced.

Rising Action

The part of the story where conflict develops and tension builds as the protagonist faces challenges and obstacles.

Climax

The turning point of the story where the conflict reaches its highest intensity and the outcome is decided.

Falling Action

The part of the story where the tension decreases and events begin moving toward resolution.

Denouement/Resolution

The final part of the story where the conflict is resolved, loose ends are tied up, and the story concludes. It may also reveal a final message or theme.