Image Of Bird In John Keats Ode To A Nightingale: A Psychoanalytic Reading

Image of bird in John Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale: A psychoanalytic Reading

Psychoanalytic critics are not agreed on the probable application psychoanalytic concepts to the literary works. No doubt, all the psychological concepts cannot be applied to every literary work. However, some concepts in psychoanalytical criticism can be applied to the literary works. The task of the critic is to see which concept operates in the literary text in a way which yields a meaningful coherent psychoanalytic interpretation. The psychological approach to the study of literature has been the most abused approach. The scholars and critics most commonly employed psychological approach as an interpretative tool to enhance their understanding and appreciation of literature. Psychological interpretation offers various ways to understand and appreciate thematic and symbolic mysteries in a given text. There is a great deal of serious literature that can be interpreted using the psychological approach of Freud.
Sigmund Freud is considered as the pioneer in the field of Psychological criticism. Freud’s psychological principals and theories are useful tool to interpret and evaluate literature. Literary critics apply the following psychological theories:
• The dominance of the unconscious over the conscious,
• The expression of the conscious through symbols and images,
• The primacy of sexuality as a motivating force in human behavior.
Literature was seen as dream by the early critics. The authors