On The Politics In Harold Pinter’s Plays

Harold Pinter is generally considered as one of the most influential absurdist playwrights in contemporary Britain. The critics tend to divide his plays into three phases of different thematic focuses, respectively,"Comedies of Menace" for the early plays, the mid-career "Memory Plays" and the later political plays called "Pinter and Politics".Based on the worthwhile research both at home and abroad, through textual analysis, the thesis attempts to explore the politics in Pinter’s plays of every phase from the perspective of life experiences of Pinter and the style of his plays, and points out that Pinter is never a simply absurdist and he is also political since the beginning of his writing career with skillfully keeping politics buried beneath absurdity.Firstly, the thesis gives a brief introduction to Pinter’s artistic development in terms of thematic concerns and dramatic techniques and a general review of Pinter criticism of recent years. Secondly, the main body of the thesis which consists of four chapters analyzes the politics in Pinter’s plays. Chapter one analyzes the politics hidden in Pinter’s’apolitical’plays, namely, the early "comedies of menace" and "memory plays" of the mid-career. Chapter two is devoted to the study of the politics in Pinter’s later plays and the factors contributing to the critical shift of Pinter’s political stance. In addition, it discusses the continuity in political themes of the ’apolitical’plays and the later political plays. The later politics can find its source from the early menace and threat. Chapter three centers on one hidden perpetual political theme in Pinter’s play—power games. For Pinter, politics mainly means the struggle for power between the strong and the weak, and it has nothing to do with ideology. The game players try their best to gain power, but you never know who is the victor and who is the victim. Their identity is ambiguous forever. Chapter four discusses the different female images in the different contexts of politics. In the context of micro-politics, women are basically disgusting or rebellious, breaking traditions in many aspects. However, when put in the context of micro-politics, they become pathetic victims of political oppression. Finally, the thesis concludes the political meaning in Pinter’s plays. Meanwhile, this part shows its expectations of the future study of Pinter’s works.