Today we will cover alternative methods of
approaching literary criticism.
Up to this point in your education, many of
you have been asked to view literature as
a statement made by an author.
You would look at literary elements, like
plot, character, metaphors, symbols, to reconstruct
the intent of the writer.
This is generally the foundation imparted
when teaching literary analysis.
There are however, other ways of approaching
the reading of texts.
This is called literary theory.
Imagine you have different sets of glasses,
all with distinct prescriptions, that will
change the way you see things.
This would be literary theory.
There are many different schools of thought
around which literary theories have been created.
For example, after studying Marxist theory,
critics would apply the elements of that theory
to literature.
This would open the readings up into different
nuances.
Before we start, one of the things you want
to suspend is wondering whether or not an
author intended this meaning.
Because we can never accurately reconstruct
authorial intent, we should not see it as
an obstacle to applying literary theory.
We will begin with one of the more exciting
literary theories based on the fundamentals
of Psychoanalysis.
As you know, there are many theories within
this practice, but the one we will focus on
is Freudian psychoanalysis.
Although many of Freud’s theories have been
challenged and revised over the years, we
will view him as a foundational figure, and
later, you may expand your knowledge by exploring
the theories of other psychologists.
So, the quick about Freud.
From Vienna, he started out in practice, focusing
on nervous and anxiety disorders.
He saw the human personality as a thing that
had to be modulated in order to fit into society.
He was one of the pioneers of dream analysis,
he saw dreams as the language of the unconscious
mind, so much of our use of psychoanalytic
literary theory will employ the same strategies,
like reading the events of dreams as symbols
of underlying issues in the psyche.
A quick overview of some of his main theories:
Humans, for the most part, are born with three
natural drives: a drive for food, for shelter,
and for sex.
These are associated with an energy, or life
force known as the libido.
We use this energy to individuate, or order
our psyches.
Next, Freud was not the first to come up with
this, but he felt that the mind was divided
into two spheres, the conscious and the unconscious.
He had a third place called the pre-conscious,
but he recanted on that theory.
The conscious is what you are aware of, your
active thinking, while the unconscious is
all of your innate drives, thoughts, dreaming,
etc.
Sometimes you have drives or desires that
come from this unconscious, but these desires
may conflict with what you can realistically,
or legally do.
For instance, I may be craving Chik fil A
at this very moment, and it is right across
the street, however, think about the things
preventing from getting chik fil a.
I am in the middle of teaching, I may not
have money, if I walk out of my class, I may
lose my teaching job.
My unconscious, however, does not interact
with reality, so those impediments don’t
prevent my desire.
Because I want those nuggets, I start to develop
anxiety.
So, what do we do with these unconscious urges,
or even memories, or thoughts that are unwanted
or ones we deem inappropriate?
The unconscious mind is governed by something
called the law of transformation.
So, two things can happen.
1.
I will sublimate my inappropriate desire to
turn it into, or transform it, into something
socially acceptable.
For instance, I have a deep desire to watch
people bleed.
I like inflicting pain on others.
Clearly, I should seek psychiatric help.
However, I do not want to face the reality
of being a violent person, so what do I do
with that desire?
Remember, because I cannot fulfill it all
the time, I’m getting anxious.
So, I sublimate it.
What activity can I do that allows me to inflict
pain and watch people bleed?
I could be an MMA fighter.
Now, I’m no longer a person needing psychiatric
attention, I’m just a really good fighter.
Or, I could repress the urge.
Here, I jam it way down into my unconscious
and pretend that it is gone.
Is it gone?
No.
And in fact, these things have a way of returning.
Freud called it the return of the repressed.
We 
will stop here with this overview, and begin
the next part tomorrow.
