الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Most of Pinter’s plays are characterized by the prevalence of violence. This, to a great extent, is due to his influence by the terrible and painful. childhood experiences he witnessed during World War II. However, the violence depicted in his dramas is much different from the excessive physical violence shown in the plays of his contemporaries such as David Rudkin and Edward Bond since it depends on the power of language not the action since language has a great effect on generating violence. The thesis tackles the nature of violence practised by the characters in some of Pinter’s plays. Whereas Pinter’s early plays namely The Room and The Homecoming focus on verbal and physical violence, his political plays such as The Birthday Party and One for the Road depict psychological violence. In The Room, Pinter explains that violence is the outcome of the territorial struggle that has taken place between the occupants of the room and the intruders who either want to occupy me room themselves or to get rid of its original occupants. The Homecoming, is fraugt with violent scenes since it depicts power struggle between men and a woman. The play presents a series of violent encounters that have taken place among the men themselves or between them and that woman. In The Birthday Party, Pinter highlights the power of language and its impact on human relationships. It is language, not physical violence, that causes the destruction of the individual in his struggle against the system. Similarly, One for the Road delineates the destruction of a whole family by a cruel investigation administered by a governmental interrogator. It is the verbal torture practised by this interrogator that brings about the psychological destruction of his victims. |