Psychoanalytic criticism originated from

• A. Carl Jung
• B. Sigmund Freud
• C. Jacques Lacan
• D. Wilhelm Wundt

Answer: (B)

Psychoanalytic criticism began with Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. Freud’s ideas about the unconscious mind, repression, and the interpretation of dreams gave critics a powerful way to read literature: texts can reveal hidden desires, fears, and conflicts that aren’t immediately visible on the surface. By looking at what characters say and do, and at symbols, slips of the tongue, and the dream-like logic within a story, readers can uncover motives and psychological tensions that shape how a narrative unfolds.

While later theorists like Carl Jung and Jacques Lacan expanded and revised psychoanalytic ideas for literary analysis, the origin of the approach lies in Freud’s work. Wilhelm Wundt, on the other hand, is associated with the beginnings of experimental psychology, not psychoanalytic criticism.