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anneklein's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
bluelilyblue's review against another edition
3.0
Very brief introduction in Marxist criticism; it provides, however, a solid headstart insofar as further reading is concerned.
baratats's review against another edition
2.0
cegamente trotskista. o autor também é obviamente partidário de brecht nas discordâncias com lukács - e por “obviamente” significa que ele dedica parágrafos a explicar e defender os pontos de vista brechtianos, enquanto passa por cima da obra lukactiana, que aparece apenas para ser negada na frase seguinte. não me incomodaria, não fosse o fato de que os outros autores são apresentados de maneira muito mais amigável e por se tratar de um livro bastante introdutório. melhor ler só a primeira metade.
tombomp's review against another edition
2.0
Decent summary of some strands of Marxist thought about literature. The last chapter, which is detailed and primarily about Brecht, is fascinating. Suffers from its length and its refusal to define what Marxist literary criticism *is* - it doesn't talk about anything past the Second World War, leaving a pretty huge gap. Refers often to what Marx/Engels/Lenin/Trotsky thought but doesn't really describe the details much at all. What he does describe leaves their thoughts sounding pretty basic - what I got from it is mostly "they thought literature should expose contradictions in society", but it's hedged with a lot of "but"s that don't really pin it down. This isn't to say it's not interesting or even good, but I don't feel much better informed about Marxist criticism in general, outside of the excellent stuff about Brecht's ideas.
alexanderp's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
A really dense primer on Marxist Criticism. I love Eagleton's writing a lot, but I believe this would have been better served on a lot of counts as a longer work. Looking forward to diving more into this field though.
primmiiee's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
A quick, informative read about Marxist criticism in literature. Significantly more informative than the Marxist chapters from introductory textbooks like Tyson's Critical Theory Today or Selden's A Reader's Guide. It's surprisingly easy to read too, took me just two or three sittings to get through, which is unusual with academic texts this long. Though I have to say, I wish it was more focused on the literary criticism part instead of explaining the history of Marxism itself, but still, not really a big deal.
A quick, informative read about Marxist criticism in literature. Significantly more informative than the Marxist chapters from introductory textbooks like Tyson's Critical Theory Today or Selden's A Reader's Guide. It's surprisingly easy to read too, took me just two or three sittings to get through, which is unusual with academic texts this long. Though I have to say, I wish it was more focused on the literary criticism part instead of explaining the history of Marxism itself, but still, not really a big deal.
d_delfs's review against another edition
3.0
A succinct and digestible outlining of reading literature through the lens of Marxist criticism.
Explains concepts like the relation between the material base of production and societal superstructures, and how literature can be a medium in this relationship. Shows different attempts by academics to provide solutions for the questions of the position of authors as laborers of sorts, and the relation of form and content in literature meant to advance society.
A good intro to complex topics and ideas, hard to read at times bc it’s political theory..
Explains concepts like the relation between the material base of production and societal superstructures, and how literature can be a medium in this relationship. Shows different attempts by academics to provide solutions for the questions of the position of authors as laborers of sorts, and the relation of form and content in literature meant to advance society.
A good intro to complex topics and ideas, hard to read at times bc it’s political theory..
shaunnow38's review against another edition
4.0
This was not my first foray into Marxist criticism, but I feel that it should have been. Eagleton's introduction to Marxism and literary criticism was completely readable, and lacked the problematic pretensions often associated with literary criticism. This is not to say that the work lacks intricacy or depth, merely that it strives to be a clear explanation of the various strands of criticism.
Especially interesting are the first and last chapters, where Eagleton dives in depth into the historical nature of a Marxist critique/understanding of literature. This includes both the content and the production itself, allowing a reader to understand the conscious and unconscious labor put into the creation of a literary work. These are perhaps the most accessible sections of the work as well.
The third chapter, on commitment is decidedly more difficult and lodged in theory, as it piggybacks somewhat off the discussion of Hegelian philosophy and conflicting theoretical stances effecting Marxist criticism. This means that there is a lot of technicality to the arguments that Eagleton is attempting to illuminate, from which he is attempting to tease out complexity and depth of meaning while remaining out of academic drudgery.
My knowledge of the conflicts and contradictions of Marxist criticism has been enhanced greatly by this book, as well as my grasp of how Marxist economic/social theories can be applied to literature. The importance of history to Marx and his thoughts has always been apparent to me, but seeing how the various theories on how that plays into literary theory and production has been truly enjoyable.
Especially interesting are the first and last chapters, where Eagleton dives in depth into the historical nature of a Marxist critique/understanding of literature. This includes both the content and the production itself, allowing a reader to understand the conscious and unconscious labor put into the creation of a literary work. These are perhaps the most accessible sections of the work as well.
The third chapter, on commitment is decidedly more difficult and lodged in theory, as it piggybacks somewhat off the discussion of Hegelian philosophy and conflicting theoretical stances effecting Marxist criticism. This means that there is a lot of technicality to the arguments that Eagleton is attempting to illuminate, from which he is attempting to tease out complexity and depth of meaning while remaining out of academic drudgery.
My knowledge of the conflicts and contradictions of Marxist criticism has been enhanced greatly by this book, as well as my grasp of how Marxist economic/social theories can be applied to literature. The importance of history to Marx and his thoughts has always been apparent to me, but seeing how the various theories on how that plays into literary theory and production has been truly enjoyable.