Which concept focuses on the psychological analysis of the author and characters within a literary work?

• A. New Criticism
• B. Gender
• C. Psychoanalytic
• D. Christ Figure

Answer: (C)

Psychoanalytic criticism analyzes how unconscious drives, childhood experiences, and inner conflicts shape both the author and the characters in a literary work. It asks why characters act the way they do, what dreams or symbols reveal about hidden wishes, and how the writer’s own psyche may influence themes and portrayal. This approach directly focuses on psychological analysis, making it the best fit for questions about mental states, motivations, and symbolic meanings tied to the psyche. By contrast, New Criticism treats the text as a self-contained artifact with emphasis on language and form; Gender analysis examines how gender shapes representation; and the Christ Figure idea centers on a specific archetype rather than on broad psychological analysis.