This book examines the relationship between the work of the Russian Formalists and that of such contemporary Marxist critics as Macherey, Eagleton and Renee Balibar. Preface, Acknowledgements, Formalism Revisited, Criticism and Literature, Formalism and Marxism, Russian Formalism: Clearing the Ground, Formalism and Beyond, Marxist Criticism: From Aesthetics to Politics, Marxism Versus Aesthetics, Science and Literature and Ideology, The Legacy of Aesthetics, Work in Progress, Conclusion, Notes, Bibliography, Index.