Karl Marx published the first volume of Das Kapital in 1867, presenting a comprehensive critique of capitalism based on analysis of commodity production, surplus value, and class exploitation. Marx argued that capitalism inherently generates inequality and crisis through its exploitation of labor. Though volumes two and three were published posthumously, the work became foundational for socialist and communist movements worldwide, influencing revolutions and social policies across the globe.

Marxist analysis influenced proletarian poetry and socially committed literature addressing class struggle and worker exploitation. Poets like Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, and Bertolt Brecht incorporated Marxist perspectives into verse celebrating working-class solidarity and criticizing capitalist injustice. Modernist poets engaged with alienation concepts derived from Marxist theory, while contemporary spoken word and protest poetry frequently draw on Marxist critiques of economic inequality. Marxist literary criticism also developed, analyzing how poetry reflects and challenges ideological structures.