Critic speak is tough, but we've got you covered.
Quote :“The Order of Discourse”
[D]iscourse is not simply that which translates struggles or systems of domination, but is the thing for which and by which there is struggle, discourse is the power which is to be seized.
Discourse (a group of statements or utterances about a specific theme or topic) doesn’t just tell us about who has power and who doesn’t. Discourse is itself a medium of power. If we control discourse, we also control power.
Let’s think of it in terms of the discourse over abortion. There are those who are “pro-choice” (they believe in giving women the right have an abortion) and those who are “pro-life” (putting the fetus’ right to life above a woman’s right to have an abortion). Both sides in the abortion fight insist on using the terms “pro-choice” or “pro-life,” depending on which camp they’re in. By insisting on these different terms, each side is trying to control the discourse on abortion. And why are they doing that? They’re doing that because whoever controls the terms of the abortion debate, also controls the outcome of the debate.
So Foucault is big on the link between discourse and power. The relationship between these two is very important to the New Historicists, who like to explore how power relationships are reflected in literary works—which are, of course, “mini” discourses in themselves.