Jungian Literary Theory

(3506 words)
  • Susan A. Rowland (University of Greenwich)

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Jungian literary theory differs from the established practice of Jungian literary criticism, sometimes referred to as archetypal criticism. As a relatively new development, Jungian literary theory makes connections between the core principles and writings of the psychoanalyst, C.G. Jung, and the domain of contemporary cultural theory including deconstruction, poststructuralism, postmodernism, feminism, and postcolonialism. Hitherto, Jungian criticism was based upon a notion of recurrent thematic motifs, known as archetypes, which play a structuring role in literature and culture. Such an approach can tend to downplay historical specificity in critical practice. Jungian literary theory takes a different starting point in drawing upon …


Rowland, Susan A.. "Jungian Literary Theory". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 November 2004
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1508, accessed 30 November 2015.]

Related Groups

  1. Psychoanalysis