ABSTRACT
In this paper I shall use a poem by Goethe to explore the parallels between psychological theory and German aesthetics. A ‘Jungian’ approach to this text can, I suggest, open us up to an awareness of the dominant cultural tradition to which C. G. Jung belonged (and of which he forms a part). By examining the concepts of anima and imagination in this work by Goethe, I wish to uncover the relation between Jung’s psychology and a cultural tradition that understands the arts in terms of their relation to the psyche.
