The Defense of Psychoanalysis in Literature: Long Day's Journey Into Night and A View From The Bridge

Authors

Albert Rothenberg, Yale University
Eugene D. Shapiro, Yale University

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, the first paragraph of the essay follows:

Psychoanalysis and literary criticism were made for each other, if ever two endeavors were.* A psychoanalytic approach to literary criticism merges two intuitive and analytic pathways to the human heart. But this type of criticism has often proved banal and repetitious, reducing literary themes to the ubiquitous Oedipus complex and ignoring form, flux or language. Despite some notable exceptions, there have been serious sins. Psychoanalytic criticism has often ignored the aesthetic integrity of a literary work, focusing exclusively on limited elements of plot and theme. Or, it has aimed at extraneous and scientifically unjustified analyses of the personality of the author in relation to his work.

Recommended Citation

Rothenberg, Albert and Shapiro, Eugene D. (1973) "The Defense of Psychoanalysis in Literature: Long Day's Journey Into Night and A View From The Bridge," Comparative Drama: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/compdr/vol7/iss1/3