LITERATURE AND

POLITICS
HISS I, WEEK 11

WHAT IS LITERATURE?
"the profession of an author; the production of

writings, especially of imaginative prose,

verse, etc.
written works, especially those considered of

superior or lasting artistic merit

The concept of text is no longer limited to
written works

WHAT IS POLITICS?
Politics has always attracted negative appellations to itself

over the years.

Websters unabridged Dictionary- defines the word
politics as "the conducting of or participation in political
affairs, often as a profession.
Political scientists define politics as the activity by which
differing interests within a given unit of rule are
conciliated by giving them a share in power in proportion
to their importance to the whole community.

THE CONNECTIONS
History and politics form crucial aspects of

literary analysis
Literary analysis helps us understand the
political undertones of a text
Literary analysis is a process of evaluating a
text base on both its content and context.
The sociological approach to literature
Literature exists in a context
The Marxist literary theory Literature and
class, oppressions and social conflicts

Writing a Literary Analysis usually involve:

In addition to basic literary elements,

Historical context
Social, political, economic contexts
Ideology
Multiple voices
Various critical orientations
Literary theory

The Sociological Approach to Literature

Sociological criticism argues that
social contexts (the social
environment) must be considered
when analyzing a text.
Focuses on the values of a society
and how those views are reflected
in a text
Emphasizes the economic, political,
and cultural issues within literary
texts
Core Belief: Literature is a
reflection of its society.

EXAMPLES:
Achebes pre colonial texts have been seen by

many sociologists as ways of understanding

the Igbo culture
Soyinkas plays place more emphasis on the
Yoruba culture as evident in such plays as
Death and the Kings Horsemen and The Lion
and the Jewel
Nigerian post- independent literature often
reflect societal ills like bribery and corruption,
military dictatorship, and disillusionment

The Marxist Approach to Literature

Marxist Criticism emphasizes economic and
social conditions. It is based on the political
theory of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Concerned with understanding the role of
power, politics, and money in literary texts

A Marxist analysis will answer the

following questions:
Does the text raise criticism about the emptiness

of life in bourgeois society?

What does the author portray about society?
What is emphasized, what is ignored?
Are characters from all social levels equally
sketched?
Are the main problems individual or collective?

A Marxist analysis will:

Expose class conflict
Who or what is the dominant class?
What does the dominant class believe?
How do they impose their beliefs on others?
Show how the working class is trapped
Show how the working class is oppressed
Show how the working class can end their

own oppression

Marxist literary analysis and the

Genres of Literary Expression
Marxism and poetry
Marxism and drama
Marxism and prose

Poetry
Union
Not me alone
I know now
But all the whole oppressed
Poor world,
White and black,
Must put their hands with mine
To shake the pillars of those temples
Wherein the false gods dwell
And worn-out altars stand
Too well defended,
And the rule of greeds upheld
That must be ended.
Langston Hughes

This Nigeria Sef

Drama: Femi Osofisan &Ngugi Wa

Thiongo

Prose:Excerpt from Run with the

Horsemen by Ferrol Sams

The colored folk were beginning their revival service, which they called
Big MeetingThey were, however, having dinner on the grounds
today, and the boy was eager to go. He had extracted an invitation
from Ole John Tom the evening beforeThere were certain unwritten
but nonetheless well-defined barriers of mutual respect between the
races. Nowhere has the doctrine of religious freedom been more
openly extended than in the rural post-Reconstruction South, except,
of course, to Catholics and Jews. As long as a group designated itself
Baptist, almost any code of behaviour was acceptable. One did not,
however, attend a strange church out of idle curiosity. Certainly one
did not traverse racial lines as a titillated spectator. Although no one
had ever bothered to tell the boy that he should not go to a colored
church, he knew within his heart that such a venture was strictly
taboo. He consequently went about obtaining permission to go with
Ole John Tom in a very circuitous fashion (Sams 241).