Raymond Williams and the Contemporary Transformation Path of British Marxist Literary Theory

With the global expansion and quasi-disciplinary development of cultural studies and cultural criticism, the name Raymond Williams has gradually become a commonly used term, often representing early British cultural studies. As one of the representative figures of cultural studies, Williams made immeasurable contributions to the rise and development of the discipline, occupying an irreplaceable position in the field. Although he and Karl Marx—the founder of Marxist theory—lived in different eras, their ideas intersected and merged in the soil of British cultural studies, jointly shaping the unique character of British Marxist literary theory. This paper delves into Williams’s theoretical contributions to British Marxist literary theory and explores how he has guided its contemporary transformation, injecting new vitality into the field.