Glossary: Dream interpretation

Jung held that dreams have a structure, similar to a stage play or a book. This structure consists of four stages:

Exposition
Which sets up the drama, introduces the cast of characters and setting, and sets out the problem to be solved.

Development
The second stage of the drama, during which the drama unfolds. There may be some actions, or a journey, or task. This progresses the story until the third stage..

Culmination
A crisis point, to which the dream ego responds. The climax of the drama, in which there is a fundamental change in the situation.

Lysis
The resolution of the drama: either the result of the situation if it continues in the direction it’s headed, or a possible solution to the problem as outlined in the dream.

Jung considered the lysis the most important part of the dream because it showed where the dreamer’s energy wanted to go. Daryl Sharp writes, “Where there is no lysis, no solution is in sight” (Jungian Psychology Unplugged).

- The Third Eve (see link below "Jungian Dream Interpretation")


Links:
Jungian Dream Interpretation
10 Steps Toward Interpreting Your Dreams