Marxist Literary Theory Concerned with class differences, economic and otherwise, as well as the implications and complications of the capitalist system.
Historical Development Karl Marx ( ) Friedrich Engles ( ) –German Writers, Philosophers, Social Critics –Coauthored The Communist Manifesto –Declared that the capitalists, or the bourgeoisie, had successfully enslaved the working class, or the proletariat, through economic policies and control of the production of goods.
Who was Karl Marx? Born in Trier, Germany in 1818 German philosopher Criticized the injustice inherent in the European class/capitalist system of economics operating in the 19 th Century. Believed that capitalism allowed the bourgeoisie to benefit at the expense of the workers. The Communist Manifesto. Das Kapital, analyzes the capitalist form of wealth production and its consequences for culture.
Marxist Literary Theory Focuses on the representation of class distinctions and class conflict in literature Focuses more on social and political elements than artistic and visual (aesthetic) elements of a text
Key Terms Materialism Classism Commodification Proletariat Bourgeoisie Capitalism
How to Use Expose class conflict Who or what is the dominant class? What does the dominant class believe? How do they impose their beliefs on others? Show how the working class is trapped Show how the working class is oppressed Show how the working class can end their own oppression
Union Not me alone— I know now— But all the whole oppressed Poor world, White and black, Must put their hands with mine To shake the pillars of those temples Wherein the false gods dwell And worn-out altars stand Too well defended, And the rule of greed’s upheld— That must be ended. —Langston Hughes
Activity Re-cap What should we expect to see through a Marxist lens? –t–the political context of the text itself (places the study of literature in the context of important social questions) –t–that we as readers are socially constructed subjects –t–the idea that literature is a part of ideology