In this kind of literary criticism, works are viewed as a

reflection of the social institutions from which they

originate.
It reviews the work of literature in terms of the society it
presents.
The work itself is considered as a social institution that has
a specific ideological function based on the ideology and
the background of the writer.
 An ideology is a belief system
that underpins a political or
economic theory. Ideologies
form the operating principles for
running a society.
Examples:
liberalism, conservatism, socialism,
communism, theocracy, agrarianism,
totalitarianism, democracy, colonialism, and
globalism.
 WHO IS THE
MAN BEHIND
THE MARXIST
CRITICISM?
 A German philosopher and economist who
criticized the inherent injustice in the
European class/capitalist system of
economics operating in the 19th Century.

Since Karl Marx is a philosopher and also an economist, he tries

to apply political science and economics to the study of
literature. That’s why on his book entitled The Communist
Manifesto, Marx and co-author Friedrich Engels argue that all of
history is about the struggle between the haves and the have -
nots.
 Marx viewed
history as a
series of struggles
between classes,
in other words,
the oppressed
and the
oppressors.
• Class
• Oppression
• Power
• Economy
• Politics
3 CLASSES OF PEOPLE
IN THE SOCIETY
• Land owners- owns a huge part of the
land (whose income is rent)

• Bourgeoisie- who owns the means of

production such as factories, machinery,
and buildings ( whose source of income
is profit)

• Proletariat- they are the working class

who works for the bourgeoisie (whose
source of income comes from the
salary)
 The basic goal of this literary criticism is to assess the
political tendency of a literary work and determine
whether its social content or literary forms are
progressive. Marxist criticism pays special attention to the
division of class, class struggle, oppression, and political
background of the story. In other words, this criticism
focuses more on the social and political elements of a
work than its aesthetic (artistic and visual) value.
 HOW TO APPLY MARXIST THEORY TO
LITERATURE
As explained above, class, oppression, power, economy and
politics are some of the main elements that should be
considered in a Marxist literary criticism.

• What role does class play in the literary work?

• How does the author analyze class relations?
• What does the author say about oppression?
• Are class conflicts ignored or blamed?
• How do characters overcome oppression?
• Does the work support the economic and
social status quo, or does it advocate change?
• Does the work serve as propaganda for the
status quo? If so, in what way does it attempt
to serve as propaganda?
• Does the work propose some form of utopian
vision as a solution to the problems
encountered in the work?
• How has the author’s ideologies and
background affect the way he views the
economy, politics or society?
• How do the time period, social background and
culture in which the work was written affect
the portrayal of the political, economic, and
social forces?