2. Marxist Criticism
âȘ Based on political and economic theories of Karl Marx
âȘ Representatives of this School
âȘ Cristopher Caudwell
âȘ George Lucas
âȘ Luciene Goldman
âȘ Walter Benjamin
1818-1883
3. Marxism
âȘ Economic Structure is the main driving force behind all
social condition and historical changes.
âȘ Considers human history as a series of struggle
between classes.
âȘ Aim Classless Society Common
ownership, Means of productions, Distribution,
Exchange.
4. Beginning
âȘ Began when Marx and Engels met together
1818- 1820-
Karl Marx
Friedrich
Engels
Marxist
5. Marxist Literary Criticism
âȘ Sees society as constituted by a âbaseâ and a âsuperstructureâ,
which is the âculturalâ world of ideas, art, religion, law and so on.
âȘ Marxist view says latter things are determined by the nature of
the âeconomic baseâ.
âȘ Known as ECONOMIC DETERMINISM and the central part of
Marxism.
6. Marxist Literary Criticism
âȘ It maintains that a writerâs social class and ideology have a
major bearing on what is written by a member of a class.
âȘ They see the authors as constantly formed by their social class
and ideology that even they themselves donât admit.
âȘ Traditional Marxist Criticism deals with history, social classes
and clashes of large historical forces.
7. Leninist Marxist Criticism
âȘ Argued that literature must be an instrument of PARTY.
âȘ âLiterature must become part of the organized, methodical and
unified labors of the Social-democratic partyâ.
âȘ Experimentation banned later.
âȘ Steiner says, The Leninist Marxist Criticism insists on the need
for art to explicitly committed to the political cause.
8. The present: Althusserian Influence
âȘ Recent Marxist thinking has influenced by the work of French
Marxist theoretician Louis Althusser.
âȘ Ideology is the key term for all of Marxist, according to him.
âȘ Athusser defines, âIdeology is a system of representation
endowed with an existence and historical role at the heart of a
given societyâ.
9. Decentering
âȘ Also a key term in Althusser.
âȘ It indicates structures which have no essence, focus or centre.
âȘ This notion implies, there is no overall unity rather art has a
relative autonomy and is determined by the economy âin the last
instanceâ. Center
Econom
y
Art
Religio
n
Law
Economy
10. Interpellation
âȘ Choosing when we even have no choice at all.
âȘ It only makes us feel as free but not at all.
âȘ Interpellation is term for the way the individual is encouraged to
see himself/herself as a free and independent entity.
âȘ It controls by the structures but not by physical force (Thus the
trick can be relate to the term hegemony in a way)
11. Concepts
âȘ Marxist idea sees society as constituted by a âbaseâ and a
âsuperstructureâ.
âȘ Marxist theory argues that the way we think and experience our
world are conditioned by the way the economy is organized.
(The material conditions control thoughts, not vice versa)
12. Basic Assumptions of Marxist Criticism
âȘ Economic and social condition affect all aspects of life including
art and literature.
âȘ Art reflects the social and economic conditions (and class
conflict)
âȘ Art aims at improving the social and economic conditions.
âȘ As literature represent ideology Marxist critics see it as a way
to understand social structures.
âȘ Marxist critics explain class structure and relation in a literary
work.