In his focus on the concept of conflict from a psychoanalytic perspective, the author distinguishes internal from external conflicts, providing several examples from both, and suggests that external conflicts can be internalized and internal ones externalized. Conflicts are described as the consequence of the coexistence of elements perceived, experienced or believed to be mutually incompatible. The author reminds readers of the classical Freudian view of these concepts within the Structural Model, where the Ego is described as the servant of three masters: External world, Id and Super-ego. The author refers to the role of therapists in dealing with their analysands' conflicts and provides a vignette as illustration. He also makes references to the narratives of novels, films, plays and operas which often concern situations of external and/or internal conflict. Finally, the author provides instances of how conflicts, both intrapsychic and external, can find a resolution, including through negotiated compromises.