Colonial Discourse and the Construction of the ‘Other’ in English Literature

Abstract

This paper examines how colonial discourse constructs the figure of the “Other” in English literature and how such representations function to sustain imperial power relations. Drawing on postcolonial theory, particularly the work of Edward Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Homi K. Bhabha, the study analyzes the discursive mechanisms through which English literary texts produce otherness. Using a qualitative, text-based methodology grounded in close reading and critical discourse analysis, the paper explores narrative authority, silencing, stereotyping, exoticism, and ambivalence as key strategies of colonial representation. The analysis demonstrates that the colonial Other is not a pre-existing identity but a discursive construct shaped by language, narrative perspective, and ideological binaries that privilege the colonial self. At the same time, the study reveals the instability of colonial discourse, highlighting moments of contradiction and ambivalence that expose the anxieties underlying imperial authority. By foregrounding the literary production of otherness, the paper contributes to postcolonial literary scholarship by emphasizing literature’s active role in shaping colonial knowledge and reinforcing the enduring cultural legacies of empire.