A Jungian Reading of Beowulf This essay will propose an alternative means by which to examine the distinctive fusion of historical, mythological, and poetic elements that make up the whole of Beowulf. Jeffrey Helterman, in a 1968 essay, “Beowulf: The Archetype Enters History,” first recognized Grendel as a representation of the Shadow archetype and identified Grendel’s mother as an archetypal Anima image; I wish to extend the scope of the reading by suggesting that the dragon, too, represents
Jungian Archetypes and Oedipus the King The play Oedipus the King by Sophocles has multiple examples of collective unconscious archetypes from the theories of Carl G. Jung. In general Jung's theories say that there are archetypes that define the world, its people, and why people participate or commit certain activities. Jung explains that these archetypes are harbored in the collective unconscious of every person's mind. The archetype of the hero is one of them. The middle of Oedipus the King
Hamlet: Jungian Perspectives The term consciousness refers to "one’s awareness of internal and external stimuli. The unconscious contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of awareness but that nonetheless exert great influence on behavior."(Weiten) In the view of the Jungian analyst, there are two forces that drive Hamlet. One is his anima, which is the "personification of the feminine nature of a man’s unconscious"(Platania). The second is Hamlet’s desire to
A Jungian Interpretation of the Tempest Shakespeare’s Tempest lends itself to many different levels of meaning and interpretation. The play can be seen on a realistic plane as a tale of political power and social responsibility. It can be seen as allegory examining the growth of the human spirit. The Tempest investigates marriage, love, culture. It is symbolic of man’s rational higher instincts verses his animal natural tendencies. This is a play of repentance, power, revenge and fate that can
A Jungian Analysis of the Epic of Gilgamesh This paper will provide a unique, psychological perspective on a timeless story that is alive with mythological and religious splendor. I must state clearly that this is not the first time that Gilgamesh has been viewed in the light of the philosophy of Jung. One of two Jung essays I happened upon while preparing my research was the Psychology of Religion. Although I initially felt that this source would provide little help with my paper, I was very
A Jungian Reading of Beowulf The epic poem, Beowulf, depicts the battles and victories of the Anglo-Saxon warrior Beowulf, over man-eating monsters. The noble defender, Beowulf, constantly fought monsters and beasts to rid the land of evil. The most significant of these monsters, Grendel, represents Beowulf's shadow, the Jungian archetype explored in the essay collection, Meeting the Shadow. The character Grendel portrays the fallen self, which will assert itself violently if neglected
of the upperworld. Though “Dr. Jung’s discoveries were not known to Conrad, “ (Hayes, 43) who wrote this master work between 1898 and 1899, Heart of Darkness presents a literary metaphor of Jungian psychology. This paper explores the dark territory of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness as metaphor for the Jungian concepts of the personal and the collective unconscious, as a journey of individuation, a meeting with the anima, an encounter with the shadow, and a descent into the mythic underworld. Like
Jungian Archetypes 1.According to Carl G. Jung (1875-1961), a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Archetypes are highly developed elements of the unconscious human mind. An easier way of explaining this, is that every person who lives on this planet shares a universal unconscious idea or pattern of thought, or a blueprint. Archetypes are all around us and have been for many years; they are not just found in people, but also in characters in books and movies, gods and goddesses, as well in the
Jungian psychology is heavily inspired by Freudian psychology. The main idea of Jungian psychology revolves around archetypal images. Archetypes, alongside with instincts compose majority of what Jung bids the “collective unconscious”. Jung believed that myths and fairy tales are created by archetypal experiences. Some of the popular archetypes that Jungian psychology is revolved around includes four archetypes: “the persona, the
The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with Basil describing his fascination with Dorian, and ends with his masterpiece reverting to its original splendour. He describes his reaction to Dorian in these words: "When our eyes met, I felt I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with some one whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself." (6) Such
wishes, things that happened in the past or even predict the future. In the past, there have been many attempts to unravel the secret hidden behind the dreams and so far the world came up with three main theories of interpreting the dreams (Freudian, Jungian and Cognitive)(Wade, Travis 1998). In this essay I will attempt to analyze my dream by using each of the theories mentioned above, then compare the outcomes as well as their possible connections to my life and in the end determine, which one of these
Section 1: Over the course I have learned I have a Jungian Typology of ENFP (Extravert, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving). I have also learned that the test says I am a productive person, but there are several ways in which I can improve my productivity. One major way to improve my productivity start tracking my time at work to identify where the time is being wasted. After getting the result back from locus of control its show that I am an internal locus of control. This means that my professional
are complicated on many levels, and Tori Amos' lyrics demand a mythological approach to scratch the surface of her artistic vision. In several interviews, she has admitted to being much influenced by numerous books of symbology and others of Jungian psychology and their archetypal insights. "I don't fall in love much. I mean, I fall in love every five seconds with something but I don't go from boy to boy. I go from archetype to archetype" (Rogers 33). Most dominantly, her lyrics rely
"Respectful affection for a fallen monument" (Faulkner 145). Miss Emily was a lady portraying the pure essence of Southern refinement. This idol could not be understood or related to but simply uphold without question. Her way of life was not one of struggle but of status. She was lost in her own reality of the present, still as a rose frozen in time. This woman, the delicate flower of the community, was lost in her own perception and belief of the world. Emily was given compassion without request
psychological aspect of literature but the two most recognized are the Freudian and Jungian approach. The best approach to use when critically analyzing the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is the Jungian approach. Because the novel’s main theme is a struggle with the idea of “self”, using this approach allows the reader to understand the main character, its influences, and ultimately his actions. The Jungian approach was brought about by Carl Jung. He believed in the concept of individuation
denounced the war, and in retaliation, the German press labeled him a traitor. As a result, Hesse left Germany and traveled to Lucern, Switzerland to receive Jungian psychoanalysis. He was naturalized in 1922." (World History: The Modern Era). Hesse published his novel Siddhartha in the same year. Siddhartha was clearly influenced by Jungian psychology, as the title character undergoes Jung’s process of psychoanalysis as he examines his life throughout the novel. Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha explores/dictates/is/describes/whatever
pairs—good and bad, light and dark, joy and despair, et cetera—are present to complete the other. In this way, Marlow and Kurtz are opposite replications of each other in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness; they are doppelgängers that complete each other, as in Jungian theory. Marlow is the raconteur of Heart of Darkness, and therefore is one of the more crucial characters within the plot. He embodies the willingness to be valiant, resilient, and gallant, while similarly seeming to be cautiously revolutionary.
himself as the lone wolf of the Steppe). Largely influenced by prominent Carl Jung’s psychoanalysis, Hesse portrays the whole spiritual crisis as a struggle amidst distinct modes of behaviors and partial consciousness, or the so-called “archetypes” in Jungian Psychology. Archetypes, which may either interfere or harmonize with one another, are most explicitly forged into characters and scenes of the Magic Theater he enters, a fantasized stage that is set to reflect the mentality of the Steppenwolf himself
Eve as a figure of desire, Helen as the classical beauty who inspires men to great deeds, Mary as the virtuous mother and at last, Sophia as the figure of wisdom and enlightenment. In Jungian analysis, the anima archetype is the collective unconscious image of the female, which is also said as universal and permanent, but Madonna challenges the original meaning of it by recreating her own anima. Throughout Madonna’s career, her use of
therapist needs to interject with their own knowledge to complete the gaps in the dream for the dreamer. Evaluation The Jungian Theory is utilized in the drama “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf” where a young couple are invited to party. Falsafi, et al (2011) reviews the movie in depth and outlines the Archetypes in the movie. This is a perfect example of the Jungian Theory in practice. First one must understand the move and the effects of the middle age crisis. There is a conflict between