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Symbolist Movement and Impact of Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

This document summarizes the Symbolist movement and the impact of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory. The Symbolist movement used symbols to represent abstract ideas and arose as a reaction to Naturalism. Common symbols included colors, seasons, trees, flowers, water, moon, sun and animals. Freud's theory proposed the id, ego and superego parts of the psyche and the concepts of repression, unconscious forces, infantile sexuality, resistance and transference. His theory influenced literary criticism by providing a means to illuminate a writer's work and the creative process with reference to their life.

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Shreyash Sill
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124 views12 pages

Symbolist Movement and Impact of Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

This document summarizes the Symbolist movement and the impact of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory. The Symbolist movement used symbols to represent abstract ideas and arose as a reaction to Naturalism. Common symbols included colors, seasons, trees, flowers, water, moon, sun and animals. Freud's theory proposed the id, ego and superego parts of the psyche and the concepts of repression, unconscious forces, infantile sexuality, resistance and transference. His theory influenced literary criticism by providing a means to illuminate a writer's work and the creative process with reference to their life.

Uploaded by

Shreyash Sill
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Symbolist Movement and Impact of Sigmund Freuds Psychoanalytic theory

Symbolism
SymbolGreek symballeinto compare by throwing togethera concrete object to represent an abstract ideaoften a figure of speech in which a person, object or situation represent something in addition to its literal meaning Can appear as a word, figure of speech, an event, the total action, a character Colorsred (color of life principle, fire, danger, immoral, passion) Black-death, ignorance, evil; white: innocence, purity; green: hope, new life, inexperience Seasonsspring : new beginning, birth ; summermaturity, knowledge Autumn: decline, growing old; winter: death, sleep. Hibernation TreesApple: temptation, loss of innocence; oakstrength, wisdom ; pine immortality because of evergreen foliage Flowers Rose: budding youth, romance, fragility; lily : temptation, unlawful passion Waterlife, regeneration; moon: feminine ; sun : masculine; mountain: stability, safety, human pride; riverfluidity of life, stream of life and death; gold: wealth; pearl : knowledge and wealth Animals--Lion : power, pride; serpenttemptation, evil; peacock; pride, vanity; owl: wisdom Chain: bond that connects heaven and earth; ladder; realization of potential

French movementinfluenced British and American writers Arthur Symons, Ernest Dowson, Yeats, Eliot, Pound, Dylan Thomas, Hart Crane, E E Cummings, Wallace Stevens Reaction to Naturalism ( wanted to do away with romantic features) Symbols have always been used for suggestion and evocation--but gained greater importance since WWI

Conventional / Publicthe Cross, the Red, White, the Good Shepherd Private / Personalpeacockpride; eagle heroic endeavor; rising sunbirth; setting sundeath; climbingeffort/ progress; descentsurrender / failure ( difficult to interpret)

Lifes like a walking shadow Life is a walking shadow Shadow Symbol can stand on its own feet by representing through continued use and common understanding of a simple object or a complex pattern of association and ideas Many drawn from religious and esoteric traditions

Symbols referring to damnation: Fire, flames, heat, hot temperatures Symbols referring to salvation: Crosses, angels, haloes, clouds, churches Symbols referring to reincarnation or reinvention: Phoenix rising from flames, crosses, rainbows, passing storms, dawn, sunrise, broken chains Symbols referring to death or endings: Gravestones, cemeteries, Grim Reaper, Day of the Dead, skulls, candle blowing out, coffin, ringing of bell

Sailing to Byzantium
Sailing metaphorical journey Byzantiumartistic magnificence and permanence Birds, fish, young loverstransience and mortality Scarecrowdecrepitude of old age Music and song, golden bird

Sigmund Freuds theory


Need to explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties and internal conflicts in order to free psychic energy for mature love and work ( psychological therapyfree association, dream interpretation, analysis of resistance, transference are used) repression and unconscious forces that include the concepts of infantile sexuality, resistance, transference, and division of psyche into the id, ego and superego

Mental life is described through the activity and interaction of three theoretical constructs Id unorganized part of the personality that contains basic drivesacts according to pleasure principle Egoorganized, realistic part of the personality that includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual, cognitive, and executive functions. Superegotype of conscience that punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt--plays the critical and moralizing rolesoppose id

Id-the impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche that operates on the "pleasure principle" and only takes into account what it wants and disregards all consequences. Id is equivalent to the devil sitting on one's shoulder. Super-Ego-plays the critical and moralizing role in the psyche, aims for perfection, includes ego's ideals, punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt. Super-ego is equivalent to the angel on one's shoulder.
Ego- the organized, realistic portion on the psyche that acts according to the "reality principle" and seeks to please the ids drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief. Ego is equivalent to one's conscience.

Freuds influence on literature


Literary criticism I.A. Richardscriticism is linked with the science of psychology ; mind is a hierarchy of interests. That which serves these interests is good and that which does not serve these interests is not good Can help explain the creative process in general; can provide a means of illuminating a writers work with reference to his life and vice-versa; can help elucidate the true meaning of a given text

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