Harold Pinter
The Dumb Waiter
The Birthday Party
Pinter's Plays [from The Reader's Companion to World Literature]
--- underlying theme of violence and suspense
--- the characters are not aware of their fear
--- influenced by Beckett: existential quality
--- the symbolic "room"
--- "Pinteresque" style of dialogue: realistically reproduces the nuances of conversational speech, with its pause, silence and difficulties in communication
The Dumb Waiter
--- the unseen person who sends messages: the idea of authority
--- the conflict between upstair and basement, freedom and confinement, individual identification and social institution
--- circular repetition
--- brutality in the play (killing the cat, killing a person)
--- pause and silence
--- "food": unknown, uncertain
The Birthday Party
--- the unseen threat to the safe room
Relevant Links