The Ambiguous Status of Commonwealth Literature: A Critical Consideration

Abstract

Commonwealth Literature gained prominence and becam e an attraction to scholarship by 1960. A term habitually used interch angeably with 'Postcolonial Literature' is a hot commodity these days. However popular Commonwea lth Literature is today, the concept is notoriously difficult to define. The passage of tim e rendered it vague, ambiguous and hard to delimit its scope, especially, with the cropping up of the new form of it known as 'Postcolonial Literature'. The overlapping features and concerns of Commonwealth and Postcolonial Literature, made it even more disturbing to situate it amongst world literatures. In analyzing it the tendency for scholars has often been to switch from Commonwealth to Postcolonial Literature and vice versa. This paper argues that a lthough Commonwealth and Postcolonial Literature are twin expressions by virtue of their closely related preoccupations, they are different and should not be considered as alternati ve terms. To sort out the common confusion in the use of the two terms, the paper proposes in a c ritical and elaborate manner, definitions, characteristics and differences between the express ions (Commonwealth/Postcolonial Literature).