Introduction To Marxist Literary Theory

INTRODUCTION TO
MARXIST
LITERARY THEORY
DISCUSSANT: MARY JOY P. DIZON
Who started it?
 He was a 19th century German
philosopher that became a part of the
Young Hegelians, and later, the
Communist League.
 Marx is revered as one of the most
influential socialist thinkers of the
19th century.
 Some of his most notable works are:
 The German Ideology (1846)
 The Communist Manifesto (1848)
 Das Kapital (1867)
FRIEDRICH ENGELS
 Engels was pretty much Marx’s best friend. He
shared Marx’s socialist beliefs and provided
support financially as well as intellectually
while Marx developed his theories.
 Some of his major works were:

 The Condition of the Working Class in
England (1844)
 Co-authored The Communist Manifesto (1848)
DEFINITION OF TERMS
 Ideology : A belief system
 Capitalism is an economic system that is
based on private ownership of the means of
production and the creation of goods or
services for profit.
 Bourgeoisie : the name given by Marx to the
owners of the means of productions in a
society.
 Proletariat : The name given by Marx to the
workers in the society.
INTRODUCTION
In literary theory, a Marxist
interpretation reads the text
as an expression of
contemporary class
struggle.
Like feminist critics, it investigates
how literature can work as a force
for social change, or as a
reaffirmation of existing
conditions.
Like New Historicism, it examines
how history influences literature;
the difference is that Marxism
focuses on the lower classes.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF
MARXIST CRITICISM
It promotes the idea that literature should
be a tool in the revolutionary struggle.
It attempts to clarify the relationship of
literary work to social reality.
It is political in nature.
It aims to arrive at an interpretation of
literary text in order to define the political
dimensions of literary work.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
OF MARXIST CRITICISM
It believes that the literary

work has ALWAYS a
relationship to the society.
POINTS OF ANALYZING A TEXT
USING MARXIST THEORY
1. ECONOMIC POWER
Economic system is the moving
force behind human history.
E.g.: In the story, the society
depicted an unequal distribution of
goods.
2. MATERIALISM VS. SPIRITUALITY

• Marx averred that reality is
material not spiritual. We are not
spiritual beings but socially
constructed ones.
3. CLASS CONFLICT
Conflict here principally means the friction
between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.
 Marx called the economic conditions of life
the base or infrastructure. The base includes
everything from technology and raw materials to
the social organization of the workplace.
 This economic base has a powerful effect on
the superstructure, Marx’s term for society,
culture, and the world of ideas.
“It is not the
consciousness of men
that determines their
being, but, on the
contrary, their social being
that determines their
consciousness.”
Literature, for Marx, belongs to
the superstructure (along with
law, theology, politics, etc.).
The challenge, then, is to see
how it is influenced by the
economic base.
Literature thus reveals to us
the spirit of the times, the
issues that mattered to people.
Literature (and entertainment)
is about much more than
enjoyment or escapism: it is a
manifestation of class
struggle.
3. ART, LITERATURE, AND IDEOLOGIES

According to Marx, the dominant class or
higher class do control art, literature, and
ideologies.
Marxist critics should identify the ideology
of the work and point out its worth and
deficiencies.
HOW TO ANALYZE
LITERARY TEXT
USING MARXIST
APPROACH?
Is the text a mirror of social
values?
Is it a form of propaganda for
the ruling classes?
Can literature challenge social
norms?
1. How does the literary work reflect
the socioeconomic conditions of the
time?
2. What is the social class of the
author?
3. Which class does the work claim
to represent?
4. What values does it reinforce?
5. What social classes do the
characters represent?
6. What happens to them as a result of
this social class?
7. How do they fare against economic
and political odds?
8. What other conditions stemming from
their class does the writer emphasize?
9. To what extent does the work fail by
overlooking the economic, social, and
political implications of its material?
10. How should the reader’s consider
this story in today’s developed or
underdeveloped world?
WRITING A MARXIST ANALYSIS
This time it your turn!
See-Saw Margery Daw
See Saw Margery Daw,
Jacky shall have a new master;
Jacky shall earn but a penny a day,
Because he can't work any faster.

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INTRODUCTION TO

 Some of his major works were:

It believes that the literary

2. MATERIALISM VS. SPIRITUALITY

3. ART, LITERATURE, AND IDEOLOGIES

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