Review of Psychoanalysis and Aesthetics

Abstract

Reviews the book, Psychoanalysis and Aesthetics by Charles Baudouin (see record 1925-10364-000 ). In this book, Baudouin makes an intensive study of the symbolism in the poems of the Belgian poet Emile Verhaeren. He supports the thesis that in Verhaeren's poetry the frequently repeated symbols such as the garden, the factory, the faces of the clocks in the towers, the towers themselves, the contrast between black and gold, the rushing trains, the monks, and trees, and the reflections in stagnant water reveal the desires and conflicts of the poet's inner life, and that a psychoanalytical interpretation of the symbols affords a means of explaining significances which would otherwise be hidden. Thus, he would show that psychoanalysis is a valuable aid in the interpretation, appreciation, and criticism of poetry. The translators in their preface speak not altogether flatteringly of Prof. F. C. Prescott's "The Poetic Mind." But Professor Prescott in his work at least has the merit of hammering away at one fundamental point indispensable at the present early stage of the study of psychoanalysis and aesthetics. He attempts to prove that poetry does arise from the depths of the unconscious. The lack of such proof is likely to be felt in M. Baudouin's book. Baudouin, having pointed out that Verhaeren was a particularly spontaneous poet and that the symbolists in general attempt to express sentiments and emotions which escape analysis, is too ready to assume that each and every symbol in its entirety is a product of the unconscious. All in all, the book furnishes a somewhat easy target for one who is inclined to scoff at Oedipus complexes and the other equipment of the Freudian psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)