Marx's literary style

Recently, I chanced upon a book review by the British author and literary critic Terry Eagleton, published two years ago in the London Review of Books. The book he had reviewed is about Karl Marx’s style of writing and titled Marx’s Literary Style. It was written by Venezuelan poet and philosopher Ludovico Silva (1937-88), published first in Spanish 50 years ago.

- BY HARRIS KHALIQUE

The translation in English is done by Paco Brito Nunez and Verso published it in 2023. Since the book was hard to find in Pakistan, I was lucky to receive a copy from my friend Prof Imran Munir, who swiftly dispatched it to me from abroad.

Marx is seen as a dense philosopher by many with radical ideas of transforming the world. However, those who have a penchant for enjoying language are pleasantly surprised by his style of writing. Silva, observing that enough attention is not paid to Marx’s style of writing, has attempted to explore the literary craft that Marx employed in his works.

According to Silva, Marx did not only theorise revolution, he actually wrote it. His language was as transformative as his ideas. It was not simply a medium to offer an analysis of the old and put across a thoughtful vision for a new world. Marx, in fact, used language to animate his ideas and turn them into things that can be felt at both ideational and emotional levels.

According to Silva, Marx did not only theorise revolution, he actually wrote it. His language was as transformative as his ideas. It was not simply a medium to offer an analysis of the old and put across a thoughtful vision for a new world. Marx, in fact, used language to animate his ideas and turn them into things that can be felt at both ideational and emotional levels. His construction of sentences was careful and precise, laced with metaphors, irony and rhythm.