Research On Eagleton's Political Criticism Of Ideology

Eagleton is a well-known Marxist critic of literary theory and literature. His criticism theory is characterized by political criticism of ideology. Throughout the course of Eagleton's academic thoughts, his political criticism of ideology experiences a process of constantly developing and constructing. Generally speaking, Eagleton's criticism theory takes a way of expanding literary criticism into study on cultural theory. Eagleton sticks to the belief that criticism theory must serve for political reality. As a result, political quality always runs thought his literary criticism and cultural theory .His political criticism is shaped into a crossing network by the inherent relation among aesthetics, politics and ideology. In the network, ideology is core of theoretical criticism;politics, the power coming from practice, is internal motivation to operation of the network;wide interface of aesthetical culture and art forms a tension area for the theory.The article has three parts. The first part is to explore the evolution of Eagleton's ideological theory throughout which he keeps absorbing all sorts of theories to enrich the significance of "ideology" and forms many definitions of ideology. From the point view of epistemology and sociology, he particularly emphasizes that "fake consciousness", on the basis of the great potential represented by "unconsciousness", should be regarded as a kind of power where practical function of ideology is entrenched. Meanwhile, he pushes ideological theory into the area of literary research, believing that literature is aesthetic ideology production, because literature, somewhat political, is a part of ideology and a part of economical foundation as well. This thought alerts many Marxist's methods of literary research, Marxism going deep into text research.The second part explores political criticism in literature and culture. Since 1980s, affected by post-structuralism, Eagleton's thoughts experienced some changes and developments. He places more stresses on political quality of literary criticism.Taking English literature as an incision, having demonstrated that political criticism is reason and value for the existence literary criticism, he argues that the political quality of literature does not only serve for a certain political assignment. Discourse in criticism is political and ideological. Therefore, he enlarges the field of vision of political criticism to all the culture, what's more, taking culture, a vast field of vision, as an analysis angle, he points out that the ultimate aim of political criticism is harmonious society.The third part explores the relation between aesthetics and political criticism of ideology. He views ideology as the core discourse connecting politics and aesthetics. As a kind of ideology, aesthetics has both internal laws and conflicts of its own and deep roots in politics, economy and other aspects. Besides, Eagleton relates body and ideology to political ideology, believing that body is the foundation and medium for ideology and aesthetical activity which are constructive to body, while aesthetics forms challenges to ideology. In the complex relation, Eagleton explores the connection between aesthetics and political ideology from social conditions for originating and developing of modern aesthetics, internal complexity of aesthetics and foundation of aesthetics.As a whole, Eagleton always sticks to political and social function of criticism in different contexts, which is inheriting and developing the predecessors' political criticism of ideology. In spite of some flaws and lop-sided problems in his thoughts, he examines and criticizes reality as a common thinker, uncovers political significance of literature and aesthetics as a cultural scholar, and seeks ideal ways of social practice in the future as a socialism believer. The positive spirit of caring about reality and principle of uniting theory with practice help his theory stay open and absorbent, which is what we should learn for reference.