International Journal Of Literature And Languages
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VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue08 2025
PAGE NO.
23-25
10.37547/ijll/Volume05Issue08-05
The Evolution of Dream Interpretation in Literature from
Antiquity to Modern Times
Abdullaeva Charoskhon
Independent researcher, Fergana State University, Uzbekistan
Received:
16 June 2025;
Accepted:
12 July 2025;
Published:
14 August 2025
Abstract:
The article traces the history of the study and artistic interpretation of sleep in literature from ancient
civilizations to modern times. The evolution of the perception of dreams and their functions in culture and
literature is analyzed: from divine revelation in antiquity and the Middle Ages to symbolic reflection of the
unconscious in psychoanalysis and experimental narrative in modernism and postmodernism.
Keywords:
Sleep in literature, the history of sleep, literary dreaming, psychoanalysis and literature, the
unconscious, symbolism of sleep.
Introduction:
The history of the study of dreams in
literature has been developing for a long time and is
based on certain patterns that require separate
consideration. Dreams as a phenomenon are found in
the literature of almost all nations and have their own
cultural and historical contexts. Literary dreams are
regarded as plot constructions typical of various
national literatures, forms, and genres. This technique
is used, for example, in the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh,
the Old Testament, historical texts from Egypt, Assyria,
and the traditions of Ancient India, where
communication with God can take place through
dreams.
In order to trace the evolution of sleep in literature and
identify certain theoretical aspects of it, we need to
turn to the following fundamental stages and
approaches that were formed during the development
of literature and science on sleep.
First of all, it is necessary to focus on the period of
antiquity. For the ancient Greeks, sleep was a means to
gain inspiration and prophecy. Ancient authors
believed that Hypnos, the god of sleep, was connected
with human destiny, could influence the course of a
person's life and therefore the hero of a work. We are
talking about works by Homer ("Iliad", "Odyssey"),
Hesiod ("Theogony") and Sophocles ("Oedipus"). Their
nature of sleep is clearly expressed: it is a source of
divine revelation. Plato ("The Republic") and Aristotle
("On The Soul") also sought to understand the nature
and meanings of sleep and its connection with
consciousness. They were the first to interpret
symbolic dreams that defied conventional logic.
Philosophers also tried to explain why human dreams
were full of signs and irrationality.
The ancient world saw sleep as a phenomenon that
connected the real world with the otherworld. In this
view, sleep was seen as a message from the gods, a
harbinger of victory or defeat, and a reflection of the
inner state of heroes. For ancient Greece, dreams were
considered part of divine revelation, sent to guide
people. Therefore, staying in Asclepios's temples was
common, as it was believed that Asclepius, the god of
medicine, would give advice or healing in dreams.
Interpreting dreams, in which deities appeared in
symbolic form, became widespread. In these cases,
deities could provide hints that needed to be
interpreted, helping people make choices and
decisions. Dream interpreters, called oneirocrates,
were consulted by crowds of people.
Ancient Rome was characterized by a different
approach: dreams were a source of information. This
meant that they had a practical aspect. Military leaders
could decide on battles after interpreting dreams, and
politicians could join one side or another. Because of
this, the practice of consulting dream interpreters
became widespread. They were supposed to tell if a
conspiracy was forming against the ruler and how the
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
planned battle would end. Cicero saw dreams as
reflections of a person's physical and mental states. He
believed that both conditions affected each other.
Plato and Aristotle wrote several works on the nature
of dreams.
Cicero viewed dreams as a reflection of a person's
physical and mental state. He was convinced that both
conditions mutually affect each other. In his treatise
"On the State," he cites the famous episode of "Scipio's
Dream," in which ideas about the immortality of the
soul, cosmic order, and the moral duty of a citizen are
revealed through the dream. Plato, in his dialogue
"Philebus," and in "The Republic," divides dreams into
"divine" and "un-divine," emphasizing that, in a state of
sleep, the soul can approach truth if it is not burdened
by desire. In his work "De Insomnis," Aristotle explains
the nature of sleep as the result of activity of
imagination, which continues work of senses in dream.
He is skeptical about prophetic dreams, considering
them as result of physiological process, rather than
divine interference.
Plato was convinced that there was a connection
between sleep and the human subconscious. For
Aristotle, it was more acceptable to link sleep with
human physiology. It's worth noting that in that era,
sleep was not only a personal experience but also part
of the mentality and worldview, as well as a source of
knowledge and a way of understanding the will of gods.
Sleep was also seen as a clue to solving complex issues
and problems that were perceived as dead ends.
Medieval literature was characterized by a strong
interest in sleep and its symbolic meaning. Dante
Alighieri used the technique of sleep in The Divine
Comedy to create grand worlds, introduce mystical
elements into everyday life, and transform human
experience. Sleep in that time was seen as a form of
communication with God.
The Renaissance launched the mechanisms for
studying the inner world of man, including
consciousness and the subconscious. Shakespeare's
works, such as "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and
"Macbeth", used sleep to reveal the psychological
states of characters and convey metaphorical
meanings.
Dreams in the Middle Ages and Renaissance were also
seen as a bridge between the earthly and divine worlds.
The religiosity of medieval culture reflected the
understanding of sleep as a message from God or a
temptation from the devil. Clergymen and scholars
specialized in interpreting dreams, often basing their
understanding on biblical stories and allegories. People
also used "dream books" to decipher the symbols in
their dreams.
During the Renaissance, when masters turned to the
legacy of ancient culture, dreams began to be viewed
not so much as a religious phenomenon but as a mirror
reflecting a person's inner world, their fears and
desires. The influence of humanistic ideas led to a more
rational approach to interpreting dreams, although
their prophetic and sacred potential was not
completely lost. The 17th and 19th centuries saw an
increase in interest in science and a rational
understanding of the world. Rene Descartes
(Reflections on First Philosophy) argued about the
nature of subjective experience and questioned the
authenticity of dreams, typical of Modern times views.
The scientific study of sleep physiology began to
develop thanks to the research of Johann Peter Müller
and Michel-Jean Savigny. Literature of the Romantic
period contributed to the aesthetics of sleep by
depicting it as a space for fantasy and freedom from
social pressures. An example is E.T.A Hoffman's "The
Nutcracker and The Mouse King". Dreams in Modern
times were not considered divine revelations, but
rather an object of scientific investigation and artistic
interpretation. In the Renaissance, dreams still had
some mystical significance. But in the 17th and 18th
centuries, they became simply a product of human
thought, subject to the same rules as when awake.
John Locke argued that dreams are a process of
processing impressions received in the waking state. He
denied their supernatural nature, considering them a
chaotic and irrational set of thoughts and images.
Descartes saw the deceptiveness and harmfulness of
feelings and doubt in dreams, which were harmful to
true knowledge. Modern times and the Age of
Enlightenment laid the foundation for the scientific and
artistic study of dreams and paved the way for further
analysis in psychology and other disciplines. Dreams
have become an object of study for those seeking to
understand the nature of human consciousness.
Freud's psychoanalysis ("Interpretation of Dreams") in
the 20th century had a huge impact on the
understanding of dream images in art and culture. His
theory of the unconscious served as a tool for analyzing
works of art, and in some cases it allows us to
accurately interpret the hidden desires and fears of the
characters.
Followers of psychoanalysis Carl Gustav Jung and Otto
Rank made important contributions to the theory of
archetypes and the collective unconscious. Literary
modernism, the work of James Joyce (Ulysses) and
Virginia Woolf ("Mrs. Dalloway"), became a
demonstration of the desire to penetrate into the
depths of the character's psyche through the
description of the stream of consciousness, which is
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
also associated with the experience of sleep.
It is obvious that during the twentieth century, dreams
became the object of attention both in the framework
of psychoanalytic theory and in clinical practice.
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, argued
that dreams are a "royal road to the unconscious," they
are a reflection of suppressed desires, conflicts and
hidden drives. His Interpretation of Dreams (1900) is
the basis for understanding dreams as symbolic acts of
unconscious mental processes.
The Freudian approach to dream analysis is to decipher
their symbolism, to search for latent content hidden
behind the manifest. Freud's method of free
association gave people the opportunity to express
their thoughts and feelings related to dreams, which
means they can identify traumas and deep-seated
conflicts. Jung is the author of the concept of the
collective unconscious: dreams contain archetypal
images and symbols common to all mankind. Myth-
making remains alive throughout the history of the
evolution of human civilization, which affects dreams
and their understanding. Adler believed that dreams
can signal feelings of inferiority and a desire for
superiority. Klein considered dreams as a reflection of
early object relations and protection from anxiety in
the process of becoming individualism [5].
Postmodern literature of the early 20th century also
explores the themes of sleep, but focuses on the games
of the imagination and the multiplicity of
interpretations of reality. Umberto Eco ("The Name of
the Rose") and Jorge Luis Borges ("The Garden of
Diverging Paths") use dreams as a way to demonstrate
the relativism of truth and the complexity of cognition.
Dreams in the postmodern era are gaining a new
interpretation, intertwined with the deconstruction of
reality and the subjectivity of perception. In the
modern world, dreams appear both as a reflection of
the subconscious mind and as alternative narratives
that question axioms.
The postmodern perspective views dreams as a space
with blurred boundaries between the real and the
illusory, where linear time and cause-and-effect
relationships lose their significance. In this context,
dreams are a metaphor for a fractured, fragmented
reality with multiple interpretations of what is
happening [4].
In modern culture, dreams are used as a tool for
exploring identity and self-discovery. Artists, writers,
and filmmakers turn to dream images and motifs in
order to express complex emotional states, explore
subconscious fears and desires, and create alternative
worlds where anything is possible. Symbols from
dreams break into reality, wreak havoc on it, and are
able to change the fate of heroes. The hero can be
transported to the dream world or leave it to return to
reality. They are also often grotesque, parodic dreams
in which aesthetics replace ethics. The dream no longer
explains the world, it is itself a dream [7].
On the other hand, scientific research on dreams,
based on the achievements of neuroscience and
psychology, rationalizes this phenomenon. Modern
neuroimaging techniques are a way to study brain
activity during sleep and identify neural correlates
related to aspects of dreaming.
The history of the study of dreams in literature covers
a wide range of views and methods, the former of
which are associated with religious beliefs of antiquity,
and the latter with scientific discoveries of modern
times. Each generation of writers enriches their
understanding of this phenomenon, which turns
literature into a powerful tool for reflection and self-
expression.
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