Between a “Poetical Phrase” and Being “Led into Error” in "The Interpretation of Dreams"

The aim of this essay is to explore various instances of visualisation not only of psycho-analysis but in psycho-analysis – with respect to both the dynamics of transference and translation. The principal examples considered are: antiquities in Freud’s consulting room; gifts in the Freud Museum shop; the Rosetta Stone; and the translation of the “Fool’s Tower” dream in chapter six of The Interpretation of Dreams. How are relations between literal and metaphorical enacted in these examples, informing questions concerning relations between visualisation and conceptualisation in psycho-analysis? How might Freud’s claims concerning the “poetical” and “error” in the interpretation of dreams inform a reading of The Interpretation of Dreams itself?