Introduction to Marxist Criticisms
English Lit: OCR A Level - Hamlet, topic 7.4.1
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).
Core Marxist belief
- Key to Marxist thinking is the belief that 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.
Test yourself on Introduction to Marxist Criticisms
What does Marxist criticism NOT specifically analyse as a controlling factor?
What does Marxist analysis examine?