The Stuff That Dreams Are Made On: A Jungian Interpretation of Literature

by Clifton Snider

Jung believed that great literature compensates for collective psychic imbalance, either by offering alternatives or by reflecting the imbalance. In this study, Snider explores Jung's theories by focusing on a wide selection of Western literature. Included are chapters on Merlin as he was portrayed by Victorian authors, Swinburne's Tristram of Lyonesse , Virginia Woolfs Orlando and The Waves , The Member of the Wedding and Clock Without Hands by Carson McCullers, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray , and the po­etry of W. H. Auden. “The Stuff That Dreams Are Made On is a clear, straightforward treatment—free of academic and psychoanalytic jargon—of Jungian literary criticism. Snider’s introduction is not only a first rate exposition of Jungian literary theory, but a lucid explanation of Jungian psychology as well. Particularly valuable is his chapter on Carson McCullers. All in all, a solid piece of critical work.” -David Peck, professor of English and American Studies, author of Novels of Initiation Clifton Snider, Ph.D. , is the author of six books of poetry, including Blood and Bones and Impervious to Piranhas. His poetry, fiction, reviews, and articles on literature, composition, and popular culture have appeared in numerous journals. A specialist in Jungian analysis of literature, he is included in Natoli's Psychological perspectives on Literature. He teaches literature, composition, and creative writing at California State University, Long Beach. Table of Contents Jungian Theory and Its Literary Application The Archetypal Wise Old Merlin in Nineteenth-Century British Literature The Archetypal Self in Swinburne's Tristram of Lyonesse A Jungian Analysis of Schizophrenia in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray Androgyny in Virginia Jungian Interpretations of Orlando and The Waves Two Myths for Our Carson McCullers's The Member of the Wedding and Clock Without Hands The Archetype of Love in the Age of W. H. Auden

Paperback

First published September 1, 1989

About the author

Clifton Mark Snider is an American poet, novelist, literary critic, scholar, and educator. He has a B.A. and an M.A. from California State University, Long Beach, and a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. He has taught at various institutions of higher education in southern California, primarily at Long Beach City College and at California State University, Long Beach.

Reviews

[Scott Holstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had the pleasure of knowing Clifton Snider for decades, literally, and he's a great guy, a good soul, an extremely gifted poet, and in the case of this book -- which I first got and read many, many years ago right after it was published -- he proves that he's also a gifted writer and critic, and as I found out, someone who knows Jung better than many people I've known. I have read and re-read this book several times, and while it's a "niche" book, if you have any interest in this area, I couldn't recommend it more.

[Keli Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snider is adept at offering a better understanding both of Jungian archetype and of the literature he discusses. I come away from my reading with a desire to explore, to read the pieces I have not read, to think, to discourse and converse. These responses, rather than an unquestioning agreement with everything asserted herein (which is not the case with me), is what makes this a "5-star" book.

Works considered include:
* various with Merlin as subject
* "Tristram of Lyonesse," Swinburne
* The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
* Orlando (and) The Waves, Virginia Woolf
* The Member of the Wedding (and) Clock Without Hands, Carson McCullers
* Several by W. H. Auden