320 Key Terms in Critical Literary Theory

320 Key Terms in Critical Literary Theory Definitions, usage, and examples — organized by school and approach. Search any term. Click a card to expand. 0 shown · 0 total · click any card to expand Psychoanalytic Criticism 20 terms The unconscious term Meaning The part of the mind that contains repressed desires, memories, and instincts unavailable to conscious awareness. Usage Analyze texts for latent content beneath the surface narrative. Example Freud’s model applied to dreams in literature or repressed motives in characters. Repression term Meaning The psychic process of pushing unacceptable desires or memories out of conscious awareness. Usage Explain gaps, silences, or obsessive returns in a text. Example A character’s inability to name a trauma points to repression. The Oedipus complex term Meaning The child’s desire for the opposite-sex parent and rivalry with the same-sex parent. Usage Map family dynamics and identity formation in narrative. Example Hamlet’s relation to Claudius and Gertrude often read t…