Psychological Criticism

AGENDA:

1. Introduction to Psychological Criticism. We are going to go through this briefly (about 10 minutes), but please, please, please look it over on your own and ask questions if you there is something you need clarified.

http://prezi.com/q5rdbne7engf/psychological-criticism/



HOMEWORK:

Read and annotate "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gillman. Look for the psychological elements we talked about today in the story. We will begin discussion of the story Wednesday and carry it into Thursday, if necessary.

Essential Question:  
WHAT ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERARY CRITICISM AND HOW CAN IT BE APPLIED TO LITERARY TEXTS? 

Mini-Lesson: Prezi presentation about Psychological Criticism (25 minutes):

Freud, Jung and Kohlberg (Moral) (25 minutes)

See previous post of Prezi

1. Discuss the following basic questions to use with Psychological Criticism.

Freudian Criticism (Psychoanalytic):

What can we learn about the psychology, the workings of the mind and behavior from the literary text?  What is its psychological appeal to readers?  What psychological issues does it explore? What might the text reveal about the psychology of the author, or the author’s society, or our society today?  What models of human mind or psychology might help us understand the text better?

Jungian Criticism (Archetypes):

What mythic elements of archetypal patterns—themes, characters,settings, symbols imagery, plots, genres, or versions of the hero’s quest—are employed in this literary work?  What do they contribute to the work as a whole? Does knowledge of these elements add anything to an understanding of the work?  Does the workaddd anything to an understanding of archetypes?  Does the work subvert or deconstruct any archetypes

Kohlberg (Moral):

What appears to be the theme or main moral issue being explored in this literary work?  Has the author offered moral dilemmas in their full complexity?  Does the work demand empathy and the enlargement of readers’ moral imaginations?  Are characters complicated, multidimensional and unstereotyped? Does the text help us understand others more deeply, particularly those with perspectives and backgrounds different than our own?

2. Introduction to the activities for Day 2. Work in their literary groups to apply  the critical lenses/approaches of psychological criticism to their specific novel as they work on their group presentations. (15-20 minutes)

Essential Question:  
WHAT ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERARY CRITICISM AND HOW CAN IT BE APPLIED TO LITERARY TEXTS? 

Guiding Question: How can psychological criticism work as a "lens" or approach to understanding the text your Literary Circle group is presenting next week to the class? What insights can this approach provide in understanding the psychology or motivations of the central character?
Herland, The Awakening, Their Eyes Were Watching God

REVIEW:  Review the Prezi and activities from the previous day (2 minutes)

ACTIVITIES (Interdisciplinary:)  15 minutes preparation, 12 minutes presentation:

Freudian Group:  Create a skit or situation that involves a conflict among the id, ego and super ego.  How does the situation play out?  Which aspect of the personality wins?

Jungian (archetypes) Group: Choose either Harry Potter, Star Wars, or The Hunger Games (or another popular text or movie).. Map out the character archetypes.  Which character represents each archetype (Wise Old Man, Hero/Heroine, Sidekick,  Maiden, Eternal Child, Villain, Great Mother, Shapeshifter, Trickster, etc.)?  Why is that character that archetype?
Examples Hint (use only after discussing with your group):  
http://www.chartgeek.com/jungian-archetypes-2/

Kohlberg (Moral Development) group: Create a moral/ethical dilemma (e.g. Stealing food to feed a starving family; cheating on a test; writing a letter to turn in a runaway slave like Huck Finn, etc.).  Create or imagine a character going through that dilemma.  What would your character do in that dilemma at each stage of moral development?  Why would they react that way in each particular stage?

PRESENTATIONS

CLOSURE (as time permits): Brief discussion of how each group can apply psychological critical approaches to their novel presentation next week.