Psychoanalytic Criticism

Psychoanalytic criticism reads literature through the lens of the unconscious mind. It argues that literary texts — like dreams — are shaped by desires, anxieties, and conflicts that operate beneath the surface of conscious intention. For A-Level, psychoanalytic concepts provide powerful tools for analysing character, motivation, imagery, and the reader's emotional response.

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Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)

Freud did not write literary criticism in the academic sense, but his theories of the mind have had an incalculable influence on how we read literature. The key concepts you need to know are:

1. The Structure of the Psyche