Sigmund Freud, Der Dichter und das Phantasieren [Creative Writers and Day-Dreaming]

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In this essay, first published in 1908, Freud explores the nature of literary imagination and aesthetic pleasure. It follows

Delusions and Dreams in Jensen\'s “Gradiva”

, his first work to deal explicitly and systematically with literature and aesthetics. In essence Freud equates the function of creative writing with the motive force of dreams: the work of art, like a dream, involves the “(disguised) fulfilment of a (suppressed or repressed) wish”. He treats the artist as an egotist shaping infantile phantasies into acceptable adult form. The creative writer resembles the child at play, who “creates a world of phantasy which he takes very seriously – that is, which he invests with large amounts of emotion – while separating it sharply from reality.” The child is able to…

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Citation: Brewster, Scott. "Der Dichter und das Phantasieren". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 April 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5653, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5653 Der Dichter und das Phantasieren 3 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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