Page 313 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 27: Harold Pinter— Introduction to the Author and the Text

Unit 27: Harold Pinter— Introduction Notes

to the Author and the Text

CONTENTS
Objectives

Introduction

27.1 Harold Pinter—Introduction
27.1.1 Biography

27.1.2 Playwright
27.1.3 Screenwriter

27.2 The Birthday Party—Introduction to the Text
27.3 Summary

27.4 Keywords

27.5 Review Questions
27.6 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Illustrate the biographical sketch of Harold Pinter;
• Elaborate the literary works of Harold Pinter;
• Explain that The Birthday Party is a comedy of menace;
• Elucidate that The Birthday Party is failure of language to serve as an adequate tool of
communication;
• Critically evaluate the play The Birthday Party;
• Discuss the nature of the play.

Introduction

Harold Pinter was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most
influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-
known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964), and Betrayal (1978), each of
which he adapted to film. His screenplay adaptations of others’ works include The Servant (1963),
The Go-Between (1970), The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), The Trial (1993), and Sleuth (2007). He
also directed or acted in radio, stage, television, and film productions of his own and others’ works.
This unit depicts in detail his life since birth till his death.

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