Converging comedy and fear, that is a strange art practiced in the comedies of menace.
One of the most prominent authors who intermingles the two in his plays is Harold Pinter. But what is the role of menace and fear in a comic play? To examine this question closer the present term paper looks at the role of fear in one of Harold Pinter’s first plays, namely his first full length play The Birthday Party. As we will see none of the characters in the play is free from fear. Especially the main character Stanley, the permanent guest in Meg’s boarding house, is hounded by his emotions.
To begin with I will discuss how Pinter came to choose such a devastating theme and work on it to figure out the fear in the play, along with the emotions and actions it affects. Hereby the menace that the outside world projects on the main character Stanley will be an important factor.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Fear In General
- Stanley's Horror of Meg
- Meg's Fears
- A Psychological View on Stanley's Fears
- McCann
- Goldberg
- The Tormentors in Fear
- Lulu
- Petey
- Summary
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This term paper examines the role of fear in Harold Pinter's play The Birthday Party. It analyzes how Pinter uses fear as a central theme to explore the anxieties and vulnerabilities of the characters, particularly the main character Stanley. The paper investigates how fear manifests in the play, its sources, and its impact on the characters' relationships and actions.
- The nature and pervasiveness of fear in Pinter's play, The Birthday Party
- The role of the outside world in projecting menace and fear onto the characters
- The psychological impact of fear on Stanley's state of mind and his interactions with other characters
- The different forms and sources of fear experienced by the characters, including their relationships to each other and to the external world
- The control and manipulation of fear by the characters, particularly Goldberg and McCann.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The paper begins by establishing the significance of fear in Pinter's plays, particularly in The Birthday Party, where an atmosphere of anxiety and aggression permeates the entire narrative. The author discusses the various interpretations of fear and its connections to language, identity, humor, dominance, control, and subservience.
The subsequent chapters delve into the characters and their respective experiences with fear. The first chapter focuses on Stanley, who, as the main character, is deeply troubled by his emotions. The analysis explores his fear of Meg, the boarding house owner, and how this fear is amplified by the arrival of Goldberg and McCann, the menacing visitors.
The chapter on Meg examines her own anxieties and how she attempts to control them. It also explores the psychological aspects of Stanley's fear, particularly in relation to his relationship with Goldberg and McCann. This chapter provides insights into his state of mind and how his fear is manipulated.
The following chapters offer a detailed analysis of the menacing visitors, McCann and Goldberg. The focus is on their individual fears and the ways in which they wield power through fear and intimidation. The chapter on McCann highlights his weaknesses, while Goldberg's chapter examines his ability to control his fear and manipulate others through it.
The final chapters of the preview focus on the remaining characters, Lulu and Petey. The author analyzes their relationships with Stanley and their own individual fears, providing a deeper understanding of the complex web of fear that permeates the play.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The primary keywords and themes explored in this term paper include fear, menace, control, dominance, relationships, psychological impact, existential fear, The Birthday Party, Harold Pinter, Stanley Webber, Meg, Goldberg, McCann, Lulu, Petey, and the outside world.
- Quote paper
- Magister Artium Lukas Szpeth (Author), 2008, Harold Pinter’s Comedies of Menace. Fear and Control in "The Birthday Party", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/491640
