Jungian Dream Analysis as Literary Theory: An Unexplored Route to Understanding the Unconscious Psyche’s Impact on Literature

Jungian Dream Analysis as Literary Theory: An Unexplored Route to Understanding the Unconscious Psyche’s Impact on Literature

Oral - Textual or Investigative

The fields of literary criticism and psychology have a longstanding history of intersection, with prominent schools of psychological thought being preeminent resources in the literary critic’s toolbox. In conjunction, literature aids in the expansion of the field of psychology by providing material which can be distilled down to raw data used to interpret and further the understanding of the human psyche. Two literary theories that marry these disciplines are Freudian dream analysis (psychological theory) and Jungian archetype theory. I propose a previously overlooked psychological method in the field of literary criticism which expands on these ideas and acts as a median: I suggest that Jungian dream analysis opens avenues to understand the unconscious psyche’s impact on literature while legitimizing humanity’s instinctual correlation between divine influence and creativity via Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious. While Jungian dream analysis is more subjective than Freudian dream analysis, and therefore more complex in its application to literature, I posit that by putting greater emphasis on the study of the author’s life and times, which at least partially create the canvas and “dream players” in literary representations, Jungian dream analysis reaches a holistic approach to literary psychological analysis while simultaneously accounting for the universal symbolism of archetype theory. To add to the list of possible benefits, the concept of the collective unconscious allows for a Christian view of spiritual influence on the psyche; furthermore, the collective unconscious provides an explanation for the dream state’s proven ability not only to symbolically represent past and current events, but predict future events as well, by which works of fantasy and sci-fi may gain a means of corroboration for the bohemian idea of “visionary” authorship. In addition, the field of clinical psychology might be broadened so that alongside picture-drawing analysis, writing analysis might be included to greater effect.