Marxist Literary Criticism Today

by Barbara Foley

Why Marxism? Why today? In the first introduction to Marxist literary criticism to be published in decades, Barbara Foley argues that Marxism continues to offer the best framework for exploring the relationship between literature and society.*BR**BR*She lays out in clear terms the principal aspects of Marxist methodology - historical materialism, political economy and ideology critique - as well as key debates, among Marxists and non-Marxists alike, about the nature of literature and the goals of literary criticism and pedagogy.*BR**BR*Foley examines through the empowering lens of Marxism a wide range of texts: from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice to E. L. James's Fifty Shades of Grey; from Frederick Douglass's 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?' to Annie Proulx's 'Brokeback Mountain'; from W.B. Yeats's 'The Second Coming' to Claude McKay's 'If We Must Die'.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Theory, Philosophy, Criticism, Economics, Lit Crit

285 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 20, 2019

Reviews

[Ola Hol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contrary to what a friend said - it's hardly a book to read from cover to cover - it is exactly a book like this. Foley made this theoretical text as practical as possible. With her clear language, sometimes figurative but operating on images that help understanding the issues rather than to impress, she turns this book into a fascinating read. It's also a treasure trove of many good works of literature that she mentions in passing or analyzes in detail. Not only for Marxists, not only for fans of literary criticism, or literature. But if you happen to have interest in the three, it's a feast of perusal;)

[Karlo Mikhail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great review of Marxist basics and their application to literary and cultural criticism. A very handy book!

[Reuben Woolley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably accurate as a summary of where Marxist literary criticism is today, but that’s more an indictment than anything positive.

Infuriatingly, it opens with a really coherent and neat summary of Marx’s key ideas that I would genuinely recommend to anyone who wants a quick explainer on the key ideas. The issue is that Foley then separates off the region of ‘ideology’ as something desperately in need of attention in the modern era, and then delegates the task of interrogating this ideology to Marxist literary critics. This is the only thing discussed for the entirety of the rest of the book. To be frank, if your only conception of marxism is writing a historicised, class-based analysis of Shakespeare’s sonnets, I don’t think Marx would want anything to do with you.

There’s also an issue that plagues anyone who tries to write an entirely open and unbiased account of an area of marxism, in that you invariably end up having to either privilege certain tendencies or put ideas in direct contrast with each other. Not trying to claim that every Marxist culture book should correspond to my very specific beliefs, but I do think if you’re putting Lenin quotes, Marx quotes, then quotes from a situationist, a third-worldist and a Maoist all on the same page, you should probably acknowledge that these people have very different worldviews that probably require interrogating before you apply their ideas uniformly to understand a work of literature.

Another thing is much more straightforward — for a book called ‘Marxist Literary Criticism Today’, it does almost no summary or referencing to the current trends or ideas in Marxist literary criticism. It’s a basic explainer on Marx, which then covers some basic terminology in Marxist cultural studies and literary theory, then moves onto Foley’s own personal analysis of about 20-odd books and poems. This has its uses, but it’s a book about Foley’s thoughts on Marxist lit crit, not about the state of the field at all

[Hanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it" -- Bertolt Brecht

I will forever use this quote to tell my students not to write that cultural texts "mirror" society.

This book has been excellent in shaping/refining my ideas about the analysis of literary texts, ideology critique, and what the work is that I want to be doing.

[A L]

Timely, yet "unabashedly orthodox."

[Simon B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part 1 of this book is a succinct Introduction to Marxism, although it also reads a bit like a textbook. After Foley defines her terms things really get moving in Part 2, which deals with applying Marxist notions to literary criticism. Foley argues that in relation to Literary Theory, Marxism can be described as a "metatheory" i.e. "capable of absorbing findings and insights from other methodologies while keeping its own principles centrally in view." Dense but thought-provoking, it's a worthy successor 1970s-era classics such as Terry Eagleton's Marxism and Literary Criticism and Raymond Williams' Marxism and Literature

"More crucially, the 'showing not telling' dogma ignores the “telling” power of texts that do not necessarily engage in any kind of overtly didactic procedures. Gone with the Wind may not contain long preacherly passages about racial hierarchy, but — through action and characterization — the novel reinforces all kinds of generalized ideas about racial superiority and inferiority that its readers are simply assumed to possess. The fact that Mitchell feels under no obligation to inject didactic passages conveying her attitudes speaks volumes about her expectations about the ideologies prevailing in the consciousness of those readers who are readily interpellated by the novel."

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"But just as class-based societies are riven by conflict, however visible or submerged, so too are the literary texts and critical practices emerging from these societies. Bearing in mind that we should never underestimate the power of contradiction, we can view both literature and literary criticism as contested domains where the ideological class struggle is continually being fought out."

[Sergio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty comprehensive read, which spends a ton of time introducing key concepts to Marxist theory before tackling it's main subject of how it's applied to literary criticism as well as a significantly sized example section. I enjoyed both "parts" a lot, even if it is a somewhat dry theory book, the author's voice comes through every so often and infuses the contents with well placed and appreciated commentary.

[Hanson egerland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foley presents a detailed account of the history and theory Marxist literary critique, founded on her brilliant synthesis and evaluation of 150 years of Marxist theory. Her final analyses (Chapter 6) are insightful and highly informative for any reader of any genre in any place or time. If you are scared off by 5 chapters of prelude, skip to Chapter 6 and use the index to find the philosophical terms that are deployed.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work (particularly the second section) strikes with great force, so to speak. It's full of many useful ideas, including a sharp defense of Jameson's The Political Unconscious .

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helped me really grasp interpellation. also comes with an ideology critique of Fifty Shades of Grey—what more could you ask for?