Marxist Literary Criticism

The Marxist View

• Literature reflects the social instutions out of which it emerges
• Literature reflects class struggle and materialism
• Lower and working classes are oppressed in everyday life and literature
• The socioeconomic system is our ultimate source of our experience
• Capitalism is a relatively unstable and is a self destructive system

Marxists generally view literature, 'not as works created in accordance with timeless artistic criteria but as products of the ideological and economic determinants (factors) specific to that era.
Abrams

The Marxist critic keeps in mind these questions

• What does the work say about oppression?
• What role does class play in the work?
• In what ways does the text serve as propaganda for the status quo?
• What are the issues to do with money and power?
• Are social conflicts ignored or blamed?

Marxism in Shakespearean Plays

In Shakespeare's plays we see the emergence of a capitalist society.

the whole power system became polluted with money

the whole power system became polluted with money

Feudalism

Capitalism

In the comedies and tragedies, we are in a world of the elite - merchants, soldiers and republics.

The typical hero is a person whose greatness is essentially bourgeois self-made.

Shakespeare saw and described a society empowered with knowledge. Yet it was susceptible to greed, passion, self-doubt and a thirst for power on a scale unknown to the peasants of feudal Europe.

Anthony and Cleopatra

The play centres solely around the lives of the elite: the egyptian queen and a powerful roman soldier

Mark Antony

He gains high status and respect in the Roman Empire due to the courage and ruthlessnes he shows at battle.

The Triumvirate

• A political regime dominanted by 3 men: Antony, Caesar & Lepidus
• An effective organisation of power which excludes the working class
• Success of these men is linked with the success of the empire
• Voices and opinions of others are either ignored or rejected
• Essentially a regime oppressive to those whom it excludes

Cleopatra

Cleopatra single-handedly held all the power in Egypt. However, despite being from the upper class, she offered a voice for a class of people who were oppressed in Shakespearean times...

Women

A Brief Look at Marxist Feminism

In the world of Shakespearean politics, the ruling class of men often exclude their women from partaking in affairs concerning the kingdom. These women are as a result oppressed and denied any power.

Cleopatra however, is an exception to this, being one of the most powerful characters in the play.

In contrast with the men in the triumvirate, Cleopatra's gaining of power is presented in a negative light as she appears to have used her sexuality to 'exploit' powerful men around her. The morality of the men's actions in their quest for power is not as great of an issue as it is for Cleopatra in this predominantly male society.

Upper vs Lower Class Distinction

Despite both representing an oppressed part of society as women, Cleopatra's status differs greatly from that of the rest of the women in the play, primarily due to class differences.

Her handmaidens talk in prose, signifying their lower class.

Significant Differences in the Lower Class Speech

• Idle banter as opposed to political debates
• Vulgarity & abundance of sexual innuendos
• Serves no notable contribution to the plot
• Opinions often overlooked
• Acts a break from the drama in the lives of the elite

Struggle of the Oppressed

Like any powerful individual, Cleopatra's power is a source of jealousy and sparks great controversy in the Roman Empire.

Within the first ten lines of the play, the men declare Cleopatra a lustful “gipsy,” a description that is repeated throughout the play. Cleopatra is labeled a “wrangling queen”, a “slave”, an “Egyptian dish”, and a “whore”; she is called “Salt Cleopatra” and an enchantress who has made Antony “the noble ruin of her magic”.

Cleopatra cannot be solely blamed for the downfall of those around her, in the same way that the Romans could not be blamed for the downfall of those that they have conquered. The fact that she is a woman acts against her in a male society where a woman was not expected to have such power. It thus becomes a source of speculation and it is assumed she uses her apparent 'beauty' to get ahead.

While they may not have seen her beauty (as female roles were often played by young boys in the Globe theatre), the Elizabethan audience would have definitely picked up on the intellect of the egyptian queen, who can be viewed in many ways as a female Caesar - both are cunning individuals with a thirst for power. Yet Cleopatra's ruthless approach raises questions on her feminity, whereas Caesar's manhood is never a source of speculation

The views of a male elitist society are thus represented

Yet Cleopatra remains one of the most fascinating female characters

Janet Suzman on Cleopatra

"There are no soliloquies of any note, although Cleopatra comes nearest, achieving a Lear-like clarity about her place in the world after the death of Antony. And none of them earns the lengthy scholarly analysis accorded the eponymous heroes of the canon."

Lear-like?
Childlike, passionate, cruel, kind, unlikable, and sympathetic – King Lear is one of Shakespeare's most complex characters

Historical Influences

There are impressive similarities between the Queen of Egypt and the queen of Shakespeare's lifetime, Elizabeth I

Elizabeth and Cleopatra

Egypt Vs Rome

Wendy & Zainee