Abstract:

The play Weavers by Hauptmann, considered one of the most important playwrights of naturalism, is based on the phenomenon of the rebellion of the Silesian weavers that took place in 1848. Hauptmann wrote the play by taking advantage of various reviews, testimonies and the rebellion experiences of his grandfather, a poor weaver, whom he heard from his father. The 19th century is a historical process in which the modes of production were transformed and the great social upheavals that occurred accordingly. In the period in which Hauptmann lived, economic social transformations continue, labor-capital conflict deepens. The social mobility of the period, the consequences of which extends until today, led to innovations with various reflections in the artistic field. In theater literature, traditional play writing styles and subjects are changing. The philosopher, Karl Marx, is a close witness of the process in which social changes upset human lives, and the rapid strengthening of capitalist property deeply shakes all functions and relations in the social structure. Marx analyzed the transformation dynamics of the industrial society by finding the basic functioning of the capitalist system in Capital, which is accepted as his basic work. Hauptmann's play The Weavers is closely related to the capital accumulation process of capitalism and the social transformations that develop accordingly. Within the scope of this article, Hauptmann's Weavers, which exhibits the ways of life of the Industrial Revolution in different layers with a realistic environmental description and chracterization, is discussed in the context of Karl Marx's concepts of economy-politics and social thought. In the first part of the study, which consists of three main parts, the historical process in which Marx developed his political economy theory and the basic concepts of Marx's theory, the second part will focus on the historical-social background of Haupttmann's play The Weavers, and in the third part, the play will be examined through the basic concepts of Marxist criticism.

Keywords: