Introduction to Marxist Literary Criticism
English Lit: AQA A Level Atonement - Specification B, topic 10.1.1
Introduction to Marxist Literary Criticism
Marxist criticism is based on the economic, political and philosophical writings of Karl Marx, a German thinker who criticised the political and economic systems of 19th-century capitalist societies.
Marxist politics vs analysis
- While Marxist political ideas have largely been discredited since the collapse of Russian and Eastern European communism in the late 1980s/1990s, Marxist analysis is still a highly relevant tool for examining the power relations within societies (and the representations of societies in literature).
- The ideas are on the next slides are central tenets of Marxist thinking.
Social conditioning
- The way we think and behave is conditioned by society.
- Although we like to think of ourselves as free and independent, Marxist analysis looks at how far we are controlled by factors such as government, money and social class.
Capitalism relies on exploiting
- Capitalism, the economic system upon which Western societies are built, relies on exploiting its workers.
- Therefore, there is always a conflict between those who control capital (wealth) and those who are exploited.
- The idea of a class struggle between oppressor and oppressed is central to Marxist thinking.
Workers are treated as objects
- In Western capitalist societies, workers are treated as objects rather than human beings. They are valued by the wealth they help to produce rather than as people.
- This creates alienation: a lack of meaning in people’s lives. Workers are not in control of their destiny and cannot fulfil their hopes and dreams by their own efforts alone.
Writers are conditioned
- The writer of a text is also conditioned by their own socio-economic circumstances and so the text they produce will reflect these circumstances in its attitudes towards wealth, power, property etc.
Test yourself on Introduction to Marxist Literary Criticism
What does Marxist criticism NOT specifically analyse as a controlling factor?
What does Marxist analysis examine?
Which of these is NOT a Marxist view of the worker?