Marxist literary and cultural theories represent attempts to understand the relationships between art and society. This text explains current Marxist practices through an examination of the key theorists of the 20th century and discusses the central Marxist issues of materiality of culture, the relationship between culture and ideology and the definition of popular culture. It demonstrates the diversity of Marxist readings by examining three different texts in the second half of the book, showing the continuing relevance of Marxist theories