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Dreaming and Storytelling — Dreams Astral

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Dreaming and Storytelling

Name: Dreaming and Storytelling
Price: 52.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: States, Bert O
ISBN: 9780801428968

✍️ States, Bert O

Reader Score

4.7

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

Bert O. States invites readers to reconsider the true nature of dreams, moving beyond mere curiosity or Freudian analysis. He posits that our nightly visions represent a deeply personal form of literature, a private narrative crafted by the self. Through an engaging interdisciplinary lens, States explores the narrative elements shared between dreams and traditional stories, drawing insights from neurobiology, cognitive psychology, and literary theory. This work ultimately questions whether the psychic processes underpinning dreaming are fundamentally akin to those that drive our compulsion to tell tales.

States, Bert O

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Dreams & Astral

🏛 Cornell University Press 📅 1993 📖 232 pages 📔 Hardcover 📐 Hardcover ISBN: 9780801428968

Fun Fact

States' 'Dreaming and Storytelling' is a brilliant, intellectually rigorous exploration that elevates dream studies beyond simple interpretation. It excels at bridging disparate fields to construct a cohesive argument for dreams as a fundamental human narrative form. Those seeking a practical dream dictionary will be disappointed, but scholars and curious minds interested in the intersection of psychology, literature, and consciousness will find a rich, thought-provoking read. It stands as a significant contribution to understanding the deep structures of the mind.

📝 Description: Dreaming and Storytelling

Are dreams merely odd things that happen to us at night, sometimes pleasant, sometimes terrifying, but not to be taken too seriously? Is there any reason to think about them at all, other than in terms of questions such as "Why should Aunt Sarah turn into a bird and invite us all to dinner in her sycamore tree?" In this witty and eminently readable book, Bert O. States rethinks both the meaning of dreams and the relationship between dreaming and the telling of stories. Dreams constitute a private literature of the self, he says, that - despite their seeming lack of order or structure - can help us to understand the very nature of shared literature. Observers have often pointed out narrative elements that are common to dreams and stories - including "cinematic" visual techniques and such plot devices as reversals of fortune and paired villains and antagonists. Drawing on current work in such fields as neurobiology, cognitive psychology, literary theory, and dream theory, States asks whether dreaming and storytelling may share similar psychic processes as well. He first considers the bizarreness of dreams compared to the expected intelligibility of stories. He then surveys a wide array of stories and reported dreams, focusing on them as narratives with varied beginnings and endings, character functions, cause-and-effect relationships, archetypal structures, even generic constraints. Turning to the question of intentionality, States addresses the perennially intriguing question of whether dreams actually do have meanings, or whether we thrust meaning upon them. Anyone interested in the poetics of imaginative experience - whether approached from the perspective of the literary critic, thepsychologist, or the psychoanalyst - will want to read this enlightening and entertaining sequel to States's earlier book, The Rhetoric of Dreams (also from Cornell).

💎 Expert review

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💎

Esoterica Books editorial team

Occult literature desk

States presents a compelling argument that dreams are essentially personal literature, supported by insights from neurobiology and psychology. While intellectually stimulating for academics in literary theory or cognitive science, this text may not suit casual readers seeking simple dream interpretation guides or those looking for practical advice on lucid dreaming techniques. It requires patience with dense theoretical frameworks rather than offering accessible self-help strategies. However, for those willing to engage with its complex interdisciplinary approach, it provides a robust reevaluation of how we understand the psychic processes that drive our compulsion to tell tales.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Scholars and enthusiasts of narrative theory will find profound value in States' exploration of the intrinsic link between dreaming and storytelling. By treating dreams as a private form of literature, the author offers a fresh perspective on how the mind constructs meaning during sleep. Readers interested in the mechanics of human imagination, those studying the cognitive underpinnings of creativity, or anyone seeking to understand the structural similarities between waking narratives and nightly visions will gain significant insight. This book serves as an essential guide for those wishing to decode the secret language of the sleeping mind through a rigorous yet engaging interdisciplinary lens.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.7/5

★★★★★

If you're fascinated by the mysteries of dreams, the art of narrative, or the intricate workings of the human mind, this book is for you. It challenges conventional thought, offering a fresh, academic yet accessible perspective on how we create meaning, awake or asleep.

Reader rating

4.7

Based on 1 reviews

Esoterica Books editorial team

States presents a compelling argument that dreams are essentially personal literature, supported by insights from neurobiology and psychology. While intellectually stimulating for academics in literary theory or cognitive science, this text may not suit casual readers seeking simple dream interpretation guides or those looking for practical advice on lucid dreaming techniques. It requires patience with dense theoretical frameworks rather than offering accessible self-help strategies. However, for those willing to engage with its complex interdisciplinary approach, it provides a robust reevaluation of how we understand the psychic processes that drive our compulsion to tell tales.

❓ Frequently asked questions

While it illuminates the nature of dreams, this book is more of a theoretical exploration of the relationship between dreaming and storytelling, rather than a how-to guide for personal dream analysis.

No, States deliberately draws from a broad spectrum of disciplines, including neurobiology, cognitive psychology, and literary theory, to present a comprehensive, interdisciplinary view.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Dreams as Private Literature

States argues against dismissing dreams as nonsensical nocturnal events. Instead, he elevates them to a unique literary form, a personal and often symbolic narrative created by the individual psyche. This perspective recasts the dream experience as a rich, if sometimes perplexing, text demanding interpretation not just for meaning, but for its structural and artistic value.

Storytelling's Dream Origins

The book meticulously examines the striking parallels between the 'plot devices' and 'cinematic techniques' found in dreams and those employed in shared narratives. States suggests that the very mechanisms of human storytelling, from character arcs to symbolic imagery, might find their primal roots in the spontaneous, often bizarre, narratives we construct nightly while asleep.

Interdisciplinary Mind Exploration

Rather than confining his inquiry to a single field, States masterfully synthesizes insights from diverse disciplines. He weaves together findings from neurobiology concerning brain activity during sleep, cognitive psychology's understanding of perception, and literary theory's analysis of narrative structure, creating a holistic and compelling argument about our mental processes.

📜 Historical context

States' work significantly enriches the long tradition of dream inquiry, moving beyond purely psychoanalytic or mystical interpretations. It grounds the symbolic world of dreams in contemporary cognitive science and literary theory, offering a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern understanding, positioning dreams not just as diagnostic tools but as fundamental expressions of narrative consciousness.

📚 Glossary

Semiotics
Neurobiology
Cognitive Psychology

📔 Questions to reflect on

Consider a recent dream you've had. What narrative elements, like characters, setting changes, or plot twists, can you identify within it, even if seemingly bizarre?
How might the way you tell a story about yourself or your experiences be influenced by the way your mind constructs narratives in dreams?
If dreams are a 'private literature,' what themes or recurring motifs in your own dreams might reveal deeper insights about your subconscious concerns or desires?