The Struggle Of Power

Harold Pinter is a famous playwright in Britain. He has created many classic works in his life. He "in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression’s closed rooms", which made he win the Nobel Prize in 2005. Pinter’s plays are classified as three types which are "comedy of menace", "memory plays" and "political drama". His "comedy of menace" discloses the menace theme in people’s daily life and the power struggle behind the great menace. The menace occurs with the power struggle. Hence, Michel Foucault’s power theory can be used to analyze Pinter’s "comedy of menace"This thesis contains five parts. Chapter one is the introduction part, which introduces Harold Pinter and his works, as well as the literature review. This chapter introduces his three types of drama and focuses on analyzing one type of his plays---"comedy of menace" and the representative plays:The Room, The Dumb Waiter and The Birthday Party.Chapter two introduces Michel Foucault’s micro-power theory and the feasibility of power struggle in Pinter’s "comedy of menace". In Foucault’s power theory, power is relationship. Power is a network and it is subjectless. Power is related to knowledge, discourse and space. The power relation occurs everywhere, in everyone’s life. No one can be escaped. They are all involved in the complicated power struggle. There are many power conflicts and struggles in Pinter’s plays.The third chapter analyzes the specific power relationships and power fights in The Room, The Dumb Waiter and The Birthday Party. These power relationships exist between men and women and among friends and partners. In addition to the complicated and changeable relationships, power is relevant to knowledge, discourse and space.Chapter four analyzes the unique language relating to power struggle in Pinter’s plays. Pinter has produced his own language style---"Pinteresque". In Pinter’s plays, there are all kinds of conflicts in characters’discourse. Pinter uses the "repetition", "silence" and "pause" to uncover the power conflicts.Chapter five is the conclusion part. It concludes that Pinter’s "comedy of menace" is full of menace and power struggle. Power struggle and menace are the theme of Pinter’s plays. Menace and struggle are not separate, menace occurs with struggle. Therefore, Pinter’s "comedy of menace" is the play of menace as well as power.