International Journal of English Linguistics; Vol. 10, No. 4; 2020 ISSN 1923-869X E-ISSN 1923-8703 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 124 Language and Power Discourse in Zulfikar Ghose’s Poetry Through Lyotard’s Deconstruction of Metanarratives Ayesha Ashraf 1 , Sikandar Ali 1 & Sundes Bashir 1 1 Department of English Language and Literature, University of Lahore, Pakistan Correspondence: Ayesha Ashraf, Department of English Language and Literature, University of Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: awan.ayesha@rocketmail.com Received: March 30, 2020 Accepted: May 9, 2020 Online Published: May 27, 2020 doi:10.5539/ijel.v10n4p124 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v10n4p124 Abstract This paper endeavors to analyze Zulfikar Ghose’s selected poems All in a Lifetime and Silent Birds in light of Jean Francois Lyotard’s theory of Postmodernism that was proposed in 1979. Ghose is a globally recognized Pakistani English poet and his poetry is enriched with pathos, sorrows and resistance against destruction caused due to the domination of modern metanarratives, such as progress, nationalism or political objectives. The current study also applies Foucault’s theoretical concept of bio power through discourse who coined this term in his The Will to Knowledge in 1988. This study highlights the chaos, fear and anxiety of the current age that is manifested in the poems, moreover, it shows the uncertainty caused by modern scientific warfare it is no more certain when and where one is going to die. The selected poems expose the relation between discourse and power, authority, domination and hegemony. The present study also demonstrates the significant role of Pakistani literature in general that attempts to resist the violence regardless of any differences. The research ends with recommendations and suggestions for further study. Keywords: Pakistani literature, postmodernism, metanarratives, power, discourse 1. Introduction During the modern age, various discoveries in the field of science gave human kind a hope for a better life as the new inventions provided the advanced medical treatments, advanced transport system, technology and a luxurious life. Unfortunately, contrary to the progressive claims of science, history shows a different outcome in the form of numberless killings massacres and with innocent and powerless nations. In fact, the history is loaded with number of events that did not only affect the world politics, but literature, art, music and society were also influenced by this destruction. It was affected by certain disastrous events such as World War One and World War Two, Pearl Harbor, Spanish Civil War, World Trade Center attack in 2001, Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing, War on Terror, violence in Kashmir, Korea, and conflicts in Iraq and Viet Nam etc. Similarly, the ongoing conflicts in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iran, and Kashmir have resulted in a massive bloodshed for last few decades. These national clashes have given rise to the phenomenon of terrorism that has engulfed the peace of the world. Moreover, it also reflects towards the lack of tolerance on the part of governments in the form of improper policies that, at times, have given way to more violence. There are different theorists and scholars who have proposed their ideas against these manmade discourses that were used to justify the selfish motives. This group of scholars included Michel Foucault, a French theorist, a renowned philosopher and a historian, who influenced various social, political and humanistic fields. His famous works are The History of Sexuality (1978) and Discipline and Punish (1991), and he is famous for his concept of power and discourse. Like Foucault, Jean Francois Lyotard (1924-1988) was a French theorist who labeled these dominating discourses as metanarratives. His interest was interdisciplinary that included epistemology, the human mind, postmodern art, critical theory, film, time, the sublime, and a strong link between literature and politics. He authored 26 books as well as many research articles and his best known is The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge that was published in 1979. In his opinion, this current post World War two reflects a postmodern condition where the truth claims of progress, war, justice and freedom are replaced by certain micronarratives. Similarly, these destructive events have provoked the world writers, poets and literary persons to raise their voice against these acts of sheer injustice happening around the world. In fact, literature too makes an effort to narrate and analyze the traumatic history through depiction of alienation, isolation, fear, anxiety, psychological