English Unit - 8 : Marxist Criticism: UGC-NET English Literature
Marx & Engels on literature, Lukács' Realism, Benjamin's Art in Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Adorno & Horkheimer's Culture Industry.
Economic BASE → Cultural SUPERSTRUCTURE
(Material conditions determine consciousness)
"The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas." - Karl Marx, The German Ideology
Key Theorists: Raymond Williams, Terry Eagleton, Fredric Jameson
Analyze Marxist TheoryTable of Contents
Key Takeaways for UGC-NET
- Marxist criticism analyzes literature through the lens of class struggle and material conditions
- The base-superstructure model shows how economic systems shape cultural production
- Frankfurt School theorists developed critical theories of mass culture and aesthetics
- Later Marxists like Jameson adapted the theory for postmodern conditions
Historical Context: 19th-20th Century
Marxist theory developed amidst:
- The Industrial Revolution and rise of capitalism (19th century)
- Worker exploitation and class consciousness movements
- Russian Revolution (1917) and spread of socialist ideas
- Post-WWII consumer capitalism and mass media (Frankfurt School)
- Late capitalism and globalization (Jameson)
1. Foundational Concepts of Marxist Criticism
The Base-Superstructure Model
Central to Marxist analysis is the relationship between:
| Base (Economic Structure) | Superstructure (Cultural/Ideological) |
|---|---|
| Means of production (factories, tools) | Legal systems |
| Relations of production (class relations) | Political institutions |
| Material conditions | Religion, art, philosophy |
Key Propositions About Superstructure
- Determination: "The mode of production of material life conditions the social, political and intellectual life process" (Marx)
- Relative Autonomy: Later Marxists (Althusser) argued superstructure has some independence
- Ideological Function: Culture often legitimizes ruling class power (hegemony)
Key Marxist Concepts in Literary Analysis
- Ideology: Systems of ideas that conceal power relations (Marx: "False consciousness")
- Commodification: Transformation of cultural products into marketable goods
- Reification: Treating social relations as natural, unchanging things (Lukács)
- Hegemony: Gramsci's concept of cultural domination through consent
Exam Tip: Always connect literary analysis to class relations when answering Marxist criticism questions. Show how texts reflect or challenge dominant ideologies of their historical moment.
2. Marx & Engels: Foundational Texts on Literature
Key Principles in Their Writings
Though not systematic literary critics, Marx and Engels established crucial principles:
1. Literature as Ideological Production
- Art reflects class interests and material conditions
- Example: Greek epic poetry emerged from undeveloped social organization
- "The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships" (German Ideology)
2. Relative Autonomy of Art
- Art doesn't mechanically reflect economics ("uneven development")
- Greek art retains appeal despite primitive material base
- Engels' letter to Margaret Harkness: Realism should show typical characters in typical circumstances
Marx on Shakespeare
Marx frequently referenced Shakespeare to illustrate economic concepts:
- Used Timon of Athens to analyze money's transformative power
- Cited Shylock to explain capital's "werewolf hunger"
- Demonstrated how literature captures social relations
3. Commodity Fetishism and Literature
From Capital (1867):
- Cultural products conceal labor relations behind market exchange
- Art becomes valued for price rather than human creativity
- Basis for later critiques of cultural commodification
Controversies in Marx/Engels' Literary Views
- Determinism Debate: How strictly does base determine superstructure?
- Realism Preference: Their praise for Balzac over Zola influenced later socialist realism
- Utopian vs Scientific: Tension between art's critical function and ideological role
3. Georg Lukács: Realism and Reification
Key Contributions
The Hungarian philosopher developed Marxist aesthetics through concepts of:
1. Reification (History and Class Consciousness, 1923)
- Capitalism transforms human relations into thing-like commodities
- Workers become isolated "spectators" of production process
- Literature can expose or conceal this reification
2. Critical Realism vs Naturalism
| Aspect | Critical Realism (Balzac, Tolstoy) | Naturalism (Zola) |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Shows totality of social relations | Mechanically records surface details |
| Character | Typical representatives of classes | Biological determinism |
| Potential | Reveals historical possibilities | Passive acceptance of status quo |
3. The Historical Novel
In his 1937 study, Lukács argued:
- Great historical novels (Scott, Balzac) show individuals caught in social transformations
- Protagonist as "middling hero" through whom readers experience historical forces
- Decline after 1848 revolutions as bourgeois consciousness became problematic
Lukács vs Brecht Debate
The famous 1930s controversy highlighted key Marxist aesthetic divisions:
- Lukács: Defended classical realism's cognitive value
- Brecht: Advocated experimental "epic theater" to provoke critical consciousness
- Adorno: Criticized both for neglecting modernist innovations
4. Walter Benjamin: Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
The Work of Art Essay (1936)
Benjamin's seminal text analyzed how technological reproduction transformed art:
Key Concepts
- Aura:
- Traditional art's unique presence in time/space
- Tied to ritual and cult value
- Destroyed by mechanical reproduction
- Political Potential:
- Film enables new collective reception
- Dismantles bourgeois individualism
- Potential for revolutionary art (vs fascist aestheticization of politics)
Benjamin on Baudelaire
In Charles Baudelaire: A Lyric Poet in the Era of High Capitalism, Benjamin:
- Analyzed flâneur as figure of modern urban experience
- Shock experience in poetry reflecting industrial alienation
- Commodity fetishism in lyric poetry
Impact on Literary Studies
- New approaches to popular culture and media
- Focus on technological mediation of art
- Influence on cultural studies and media theory
Exam Strategy: Contrast Benjamin's optimism about mechanical reproduction with Adorno's pessimism about culture industry. This dialectic frequently appears in UGC-NET questions.
5. Adorno & Horkheimer: The Culture Industry
Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944)
The Frankfurt School theorists' seminal critique of mass culture:
Culture Industry Thesis
- Standardization: Cultural products follow formulaic patterns
- Pseudo-Individualization: Superficial differences mask underlying sameness
- Commodification: Art reduced to exchange value
- Ideological Function: Creates passive, conformist consumers
Adorno's Aesthetic Theory
- Autonomous Art: Only truly avant-garde art (Schoenberg, Kafka) resists commodification
- Negative Dialectics: Great art negates existing social reality
- Commitment Parodox: Overtly political art often becomes propaganda
Adorno vs Benjamin
| Aspect | Benjamin | Adorno |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Potentially emancipatory | Instrument of domination |
| Popular Culture | Possible revolutionary potential | Always ideological |
| Art's Role | Collective reception | Autonomous negation |
6. Later Marxist Theorists
Raymond Williams: Cultural Materialism
- Rejected base-superstructure as too rigid
- Concepts of "residual", "dominant", and "emergent" cultures
- Literature as "material social practice"
Terry Eagleton
- Critique of English literary studies' ideological functions
- Marxism and Literary Criticism (1976) systematized approaches
- Later incorporated psychoanalysis and poststructuralism
Fredric Jameson: Postmodern Marxism
- Postmodernism as "cultural logic of late capitalism"
- National allegory in Third World literature
- Cognitive mapping as response to postmodern fragmentation
Jameson's Periodization of Capitalism
- Market Capitalism: Realist literature
- Monopoly Capitalism: Modernist experimentation
- Late Capitalism: Postmodern pastiche
This schema helps analyze literary forms in relation to economic stages.
7. Practice Questions with Model Approaches
UGC-NET typically asks 2-3 questions from Marxist criticism. Below are question types with suggested approaches:
Conceptual Questions
- Explain Marx's base-superstructure model with literary examples.
Approach: Define terms → Quote Marx → Show how Victorian novels reflect industrial capitalism → Mention relative autonomy debate
- Differentiate Lukács' realism from Adorno's avant-garde aesthetics.
Approach: Contrast their views on representation → Link to Brecht debate → Examples from their writings
Text Application Questions
- Apply Benjamin's concept of aura to analyze poetry's transition from oral to print culture.
Approach: Define aura → Show loss in print standardization → Example from Romantic poets' oral pretensions → Political implications
Comparative Questions
- Compare Marxist and Feminist approaches to domestic fiction.
Approach: Marxist: Class analysis of domestic labor → Feminist: Gender power dynamics → Overlaps in materialist feminism
8. Critical Analysis: Marxist Criticism Today
Enduring Relevance
- Tools for analyzing literature's economic conditions of production
- Framework for studying cultural hegemony in media
- Concepts like commodification apply to digital culture
Contemporary Challenges
- Poststructuralist critiques of totality and class essentialism
- Globalization's complex class formations
- Digital culture's new forms of alienation and resistance
Marxist Criticism and UGC-NET Syllabus
This unit connects to several other areas:
- Cultural Studies: Shared focus on power and representation
- Postcolonial Theory: Intersections with materialist analysis
- Literary History: Understanding genres in historical material context
Exam Strategy: When applying Marxist criticism:
- Identify class dynamics in text
- Analyze production/reception conditions
- Consider ideological functions
- Compare with other theoretical approaches
