Identify the statements which are true for Psychoanalytic Criticism.

A. The premises and procedures were established by Sigmund Freud.
B. Freud posited that artists are like neurotic patients.
C. Freud posited that ‘Psychoanalysis’ can be used to account for many developments and practices in the history of civilization.
D. A repressed wish does not become fantasy.
E. Freud proposed that literature and other arts manifest the repressed subconscious and unconscious drives of the artist.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Correct option is D

Explanation:

A, C and E only is the correct answer.

The premises and procedures were established by Sigmund Freud:

- Sigmund Freud is the founding figure of psychoanalysis, and his theories lay the foundation for psychoanalytic criticism, which explores unconscious desires, repression, and the symbolic aspects of human experience in literature.

Freud posited that ‘Psychoanalysis’ can be used to account for many developments and practices in the history of civilization:

- Freud’s work was groundbreaking in that he proposed that psychoanalysis could be applied not just to individual psychology but also to broader cultural and historical practices.

- His theories helped in understanding the unconscious forces that shape everything from religion and art to society as a whole.

Freud proposed that literature and other arts manifest the repressed subconscious and unconscious drives of the artist:

- This statement is also true. Freud viewed literature as a medium where an author’s unconscious mind could be revealed.

- Literature and art, from a Freudian perspective, are a way for the artist to express repressed unconscious desires and unresolved psychological conflicts, much like a neurotic patient in psychoanalysis.

Information Booster:

Sigmund Freud is the father of psychoanalysis, which is a method of treating mental illness and also a way of analyzing literary works and cultural phenomena.

- Freud’s psychoanalytic criticism suggests that the unconscious mind plays a critical role in shaping human behavior, and it is reflected in the symbolic meanings and hidden desires within texts.

- Psychoanalysis in literature helps to explain how the unconscious mind and repression shape the lives of characters.

- Freud’s work on dreams, the Oedipus complex, the id, ego, and superego, and repression is foundational in understanding psychoanalytic criticism.

- According to Freud, literature is often an expression of unconscious fantasies.

- Writers, through their creativity, express what is hidden in their subconscious.

- This manifests as symbolism, allegory, or dream imagery in literary texts, providing rich ground for psychoanalytic interpretations.