Voice Construction in the Postcolonial Text: Spivakian Subaltern Theory in Nigerian Drama

Abstract

The subaltern post-colonial theory responds to the question of subjugation and silencing of the oppressed and marginalised people in post-colonial societies. Thus the theory is principally designed to examine the voice of the subaltern subject. Spivak, a postcolonial scholar holds the view that subalterns cease to be subalterns when they speak. She further argues that the subalterns cannot be represented by privileged people; they are subjects who should speak for themselves (1988). A lot of plays have been written in Africa that deal with voice or voicelesness of the oppressed but these works have not been analysed along the Spivakian concept of the subaltern postcolonial theory. Against this background, the research appropriates the literary method of investigation based on textual analysis, using the Spivakian logic to access these text: Hard Ground by Ahmed Yerima, Dance on his Grave by Barclays Ayakoroma and Sweet Revenge by Irene Salam. It is evident that the texts expressed voice and also failed to speak for the subaltern. The paper contributes to the subaltern postcolonial discourse on the question of voice construction. The utilization of the Spivakian postcolonial theory in literary scholarship could expand the frontiers of literary creativity and criticism and further create the resource base for literary criticism.

Keywords: construction, criticism, postcolonial subaltern, theory, Voice