ABSTRACT
The concept of ideology is derived from two closely related ideas, both of which have their origins in certain writings of Marx. The first of these is the notion of false consciousness as set out in The German Ideology. The second is the critique of religion as expressed in the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right and more fully elaborated in the basic tenets of Emile Durkheim's sociology of religion. The critique of ideology begins with an attempt to determine just what question is posed by the dispensation of political economy, by the price system, and by the cultural division of labour. It is only in the past several years that coverage of Shakespeare has had strongly political and ideological implications. Recent journalistic coverage of cultural policy debates on literature in general and on Shakespeare in particular has focused on the role of ideology in recent scholarship.
