Marxist literary criticism

Marxist literary criticism is a loose term describing literary criticism based on socialist and dialectic theories. Marxist criticism views literary works as reflections of the social institutions from which they originate. According to Marxists, even literature itself is a social institution and has a specific ideological function, based on the background and ideology of the author.

The English literary critic and cultural theorist, Terry Eagleton, defines Marxist criticism this way:

Marxist criticism is not merely a 'sociology of literature', concerned with how novels get published and whether they mention the working class. Its aim is to explain the literary work more fully; and this means a sensitive attention to its forms, styles and meanings. But it also means grasping those forms, styles and meanings as the product of a particular history.^[1]

The simplest goals of Marxist literary criticism can include an assessment of the political 'tendency' of a literary work, determining whether its social content or its literary form are 'progressive'. It also includes analysing the class constructs demonstrated in the literature.

History

Karl Marx is often heralded as a founder of socialism and his studies have provided a basis for much in socialist theory and research. Marx and Friedrich Engels collaborated to produce a range of publications based on capitalism, class struggles and socialist movements.

These theories and ideologies can be found within three published works:

• The Communist Manifesto (1848)
• Preface to the Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859)
• Das Kapital or Capital (1867)

The first publication Communist Manifesto (1848) argues that ‘the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle’.^[2] As class struggle is the engine room of history, to understand the course of history, one must analyse the class relations that typify different historical epochs, the antagonisms and forms of class struggle embodied in such class relations. This involves the development of class consciousness and follows the revolutionary movements that challenge the dominant classes. It extends to rating the success of these revolutions in developing new modes of production and forms of social organization.^[3]

In contrast to the Manifesto, Preface to the Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859), and Capital (1867) focus on the unfolding logic of a system, rather than class struggle. These provide an alternative account of historical development and emphasize the self-destructive contradictions and law of motion of specific modes of production.^[4] The Preface argues that society’s economic organization consists of a distinctive pattern of forces and relations of productions. From this foundation arises a complex political and ideological superstructure,^[5] where economic development impacts upon societal progress.

Capital was more concerned with the genesis and dynamic of capitalism. As Mclellan (1971) states, ‘it refers to class struggle mainly in the context of the struggle between capital and labour, within capitalism, rather than over its suppression’.^[6] Capital was less concerned with forecasting how capitalism would be overthrown, than considering how it had developed and how it functioned.^[7] The key to understanding this logic was the ‘commodity’ form of social relations – a form that was most fully developed only in capitalism.

Ideologies

It is through the theories of class struggle, politics and economics that Marxist literary criticism emerged. The thought behind Marxist Criticism is that works of literature are mere products of history that can be analysed by looking at the social and material conditions in which they were constructed.^[8] Marx’s Capital, states that, 'the mode of production of material life determines altogether the social, political, and intellectual life process. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but on the contrary their social being, that determines their consciousness.' Put simply, the social situation of the author determines the types of characters that will develop, the political ideas displayed and the economical statements developed in the text.

Development of Marxist Criticism

Although Marx and Friedrich Engels detailed theories of Socialism in the mid-nineteenth century, it was not until the 1920s that Marxist Literary Theory was systematized. The greatest impetus for this standardization came after the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia. The event instigated a change in belief around socialist ideals in government and society.^[9] While these ideals developed, socialist realism was accepted as the highest form of literature – a theory based on an art movement that depicted and glorified the proletariat’s struggle towards societal progress. These ideas guided both literary creation and official literary criticism in Russia,^[10] where works focused on the lives of the different classes. In the years since then, the Russian beliefs regarding literary theory have been modified to acknowledge that literary creation is a result of both subjective inspiration and the objective influence of the writer's surroundings.^[11] This system of belief relies on the social classes as well as the economic and political development of society. Thus, Marx’s theories intertwined expertly with the emerging ideologies of the new Russian movement and spread throughout the world.

Influenced Writers

In addition to being the guiding principle behind most literary works in communist and socialist Russia, Marxism also greatly influenced many Western writers. Richard Wright, Claude McKay, Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and James Joyce were deeply influenced by Marxist and socialist theories of the day, and much of this type of reflection is evident in their writings of the time.^[12]

See also

• Cultural Marxism
• Marxist aesthetics
• Literature and Revolution

Notes

1. ^ T Eagleton, Marxism and Literary Criticism, Berkeley, U of California P, 1976.
2. ^ Quoted Marx - W Duiker & J Spielvogel, The Essential World History, vol, II: since 1500, 3rd ed, Thomson Higher Education, Belmont, 2008, p. 428
3. ^ D Mclellan, The Thought of Karl Marx, Macmillan Press, London, 1971, p. 42
4. ^ R Stones, Key Sociological Thinkers, Macmillan Press, London, 1998, p. 24
5. ^ D Mclellan, p. 124
6. ^ Quoted D Mclellan, p. 67
7. ^ I McIntosh, Classical Sociological Theory: A Reader, Edinburgh University Press, Great Britain, 1997, p. 73
8. ^ K Siegel, ‘Introduction to Modern Literary Theory’, viewed 15 March 2011, http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm
9. ^ K Siegel
10. ^ K Siegel
11. ^ K Siegel
12. ^ K Siegel

References

Duiker, W & Spielvogel, J, The Essential World History, vol, II: since 1500, 3rd ed, Thomson Higher Education, Belmont, 2008.

Eagleton, T, Marxism and Literary Criticism, Berkeley, U of California P, 1976.

Hobsbawm, E.J, The Age of Capital, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1975.

McIntosh, I, Classical Sociological Theory: A Reader, Edinburgh University Press, Great Britain, 1997.

Mclellan, D, The Thought of Karl Marx, Macmillan Press, London, 1971.

Siegal, K, ‘Introduction to Modern Literary Theory’, viewed 15 March 2011, http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm

Stones, R, Key Sociological Thinkers, Macmillan Press, London, 1998.

External links

• Marx and Engels on Literature and Art
• The Georg Lukacs Internet Archive

nstrated in the literature.