Condensation [Verdichtung]

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

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  • The Literary Encyclopedia. WORLD HISTORY AND IDEAS: A CROSS-CULTURAL VOLUME.

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In his discussion of the “dream-work” in Book VI of

TheInterpretation of Dreams

(1900), Freud made a distinction between the “manifest” and “latent” content of the dream. He observed that “Dreams are brief, meagre and laconic in comparison with the range and wealth of the dream-thoughts” (Penguin edition, p. 383) and theorised that what was manifest in the dream had been produced out of its latent content by processes of condensation and displacement Condensation is the process whereby one sign represents a nodal point in two or more associative chains, or where various elements with diverse origins are combined into a composite figure, or where several images are merged by blurring or deleting those traits that are not common. The result is a sign which carries complex…

563 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Condensation [Verdichtung]". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 October 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=215, accessed 19 March 2024.]

215 Condensation [Verdichtung] 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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