1. 11H LECTURE
PUTTING SHAKESPEARE’S
OTHELLO
“ON THE COUCH”
INTRODUCTION TO SIGMUND
FREUD AND PSYCHOANALYTIC
THEORY

2. SIGMUND FREUD
• 1856-1939
• Lived in Vienna, Austria
• Freud was originally trained as a
physician.
• Freudian psychology is regarded as the
beginning of modern psychology.
• Freud coined the term
PSYCHOANALYSIS.

3. PSYCHOANALYSIS
• EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF
UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVES & INTERNAL
CONFLICTS IN DETERMINING HUMAN
BEHAVIOR.
• EMPHASIZES THAT ALL PEOPLE
UNDERGO STRUGGLES.

4. PSYCHOANALYSIS
• THE PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH
CLAIMS THAT PEOPLE ARE BORN
WITH CERTAIN BIOLOGICAL DRIVES
SUCH AS…
AGGRESSION,
PHYSICAL GRATIFICATION,
AND THE NEED FOR SUPERIORITY.

5. PSYCHOANALYSIS
• THESE DRIVES COME INTO CONFLICT
WITH
LAWS,
SOCIAL NORMS,
AND MORAL CODES.

6. FREUD’S UNDERSTANDING OF
THE MIND
• FREUD BELIEVED THAT THE MIND
HAS THREE BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL
STRUCTURES.

7. THE ID
• THE ID REPRESENTS BASIC DRIVES SUCH
AS HUNGER.
• THE ID DEMANDS INSTANT GRATIFICATION.
• THE ID PAYS NO ATTENTION TO LAWS,
CUSTOMS, OR THE NEED OF OTHERS.
• THE ID IS PRESENT AT BIRTH.
• THE ID IS DRIVEN BY THE PLEASURE
PRINCIPLE—IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION,
PLEASURE, OR RELIEF.

8. THE EGO
• THE EGO DEVELOPS BECAUSE OF A
CHILD’S DEMANDS FOR INSTANT
GRATIFICATION.
• THE EGO STANDS FOR REASON AND GOOD
SENSE.
• IT IS GUIDED BY THE REALITY PRINCIPLE—
THE UNDERSTANDING THAT IN THE REAL
WORLD WE CANNOT ALWAYS GET WHAT
WE WANT.
• THE EGO SEEKS TO SATISFY THE ID IN
WAYS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH
REALITY.

9. THE SUPEREGO
• THE SUPEREGO DEVELOPS THROUGHOUT
EARLY CHILDHOOD.
• IT FUNCTIONS ACCORDING TO THE MORAL
PRINCIPLE.
• BY INCORPORATING THE STANDARDS AND
VALUES OF PARENTS AND MEMBERS OF
SOCIETY, THE SUPEREGO PROVIDES US
WITH OUR MORAL SENSE.
• THE SUPEREGO ACTS AS THE
CONSCIENCE.

10. FREUDIAN DEFENSE
MECHANISMS
ACCORDING TO FREUD, DEFENSE
MECHANISMS ARE METHODS THE
EGO USES TO AVOID RECOGNIZING
IDEAS, EMOTIONS, OR CONFLICTS
THAT CAUSE
ANXIETY.

11. REPRESSION
REPRESSION REMOVES AWARENESS
OF ANXIETY CAUSING INFLUENCES
BY PUSHING THEM INTO THE
UNCONSCIOUS.

12. RATIONALIZATION
Rationalization involves the use of selfdeception to justify unacceptable
behaviors and ideas.

13. DENIAL
In the mechanism of denial, a person
refuses to accept the reality of anything
that is bad or upsetting.

14. FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND
THE STUDY OF LITERATURE
• USING FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY, THE
CRITIC CAN INTELLIGENTLY
SPECULATE ABOUT THE AUTHOR,
THE WORK ITSELF, AND THE
CHARACTERS IN THE WORK IN
QUESTION.

15. FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND
THE STUDY OF LITERATURE
• USING A PSYCHOANALYTIC LENS, A
CRITIC CAN EXAMINE HOW HUMAN
AGGRESSION, REPRESSION, AND
ANXIETY MOTIVATE A CHARACTER TO
ACT IN CERTAIN WAYS.

16. FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND
THE STUDY OF LITERATURE
• USING A PSYCHOANALYTIC LENS, A
READER CAN GAIN A DEEPER
UNDERSTANDING OF INNER
CONFLICTS, UNIVERSAL STRUGGLES
IN THE HUMAN CONDITION, AND
WHAT DETERMINES HUMAN
BEHAVIOR.

17. FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY, THE STUDY OF LITERATURE,
AND
OTHELLO
USING FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY, HOW MIGHT WE EXAMINE THE
CHARACTERS IN OTHELLO?
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What motivates Iago to be evil?
What motivates Othello to believe in Iago?
What motivates Othello to be cruel?
What fears led Brabantio to have that dream?
Why do the Venetians fear the Moor?
What message about human psychology do we
learn from reading Othello?