Assignment 110: The Absurd Elements in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party

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This blog is part of Assignment writing for the paper 110A: History of English Literature – From 1900 to 2000

The Absurd Elements in Harold Pinter's 

             'The Birthday Party"

Table of contents:-

Personal Information

Assignment Details

Abstract 

Keywords 

Introduction

About Harold Pinter 

Theatre of Absurd 

The Absurd Elements in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party

Conclusion 

References

Personal Information:-

Name:- Divya Bharatbhai Jadav

Batch :- M.A.sem 2 ( 2023- 2025)

Email Address:- divyajadav5563@gmail. com

Roll number:- 7

Assignment Details:-

Topic:-  The Absurd Elements in Harold Pinter's The

Paper:- 110A: History of English Literature – From 1900 to 2000

Subject code:- 22403

Submitted to:- Sujata Binoy Gardi, Department of English, MKBU, Bhavnagar

Date of Submission:- 26 April 2024

About Assignment:- In this assignment I will try to define The Absurd Elements in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party

Abstract:-

The 'theatre of the absurd', a term used to describe the new style of theatre which developed following the Second World War. The concept refers to the plays of the 1950s and 1960s which centre on the notion that life is illogical, without purpose and devoid of meaning. The absurd in life, art and literature arose due to several reasons. First of all, industrialization changed man's social nature. Its by-product urbanisation added a further dimension to it. The growth of science and technology furthered man's scientific temperament and enquiry, thereby causing man's disbelief in God and religion and the impact of the First World War and The Second World War.

KEYWORDS:-

Existentialism, Absurdity, Meaningless, Helplessness, Human condition 

Introduction:-

Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party is a play that revolves around the ambiguous, mysterious life of the complex character Stanley Webber, who resides at a seaside boarding house owned by Petey and Meg. Since the beginning the audience receives only disjointed information and crippled illusions rather than a complete reality. Through the effective use of 'Pinter Pause-silence and pauses within the story- Pinter carves a wonderful play that deliberately fails to distinguish between reality and illusion.

The Birthday party was the first full length play of Pinter. The play depicts man's helplessness and unease today. The Birthday Party seems like a play that can be understood easily yet it has elements which make it unique and absurd. The feature of absurdity such as unclarity of scenes, dialogues and plot. The lack of communication is used so strongly that even a pause and silence tells much more which makes the play special. The play isn't completely unconventional, it has the usual setting as of the contemporary style but uniqueness is seen when surprise awaits in the form of imagery, unusual circumstances and lack of dialogue or sometimes strange approaches. This play doesn't go to explain everything easily through the dialogues but the play itself reveals much more than the common elements of the play.

About Harold Pinter:-

       

Harold Pinter was a renowned British playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. Born in 1930, he's best known for his distinctive style called "Pinteresque," characterised by ambiguous dialogue, pauses, and underlying tension. His works often explore power dynamics, existential themes, and the complexities of human relationships. 

Some of his notable plays include "The Birthday Party," "The Caretaker," and "The Homecoming." Pinter received numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005, for his significant impact on the world of theatre. Additionally, he was a vocal political activist, particularly against war and human rights abuses.

Theatre of Absurd:-

The "Theatre of the Absurd" is also known as a "New Theatre". "Theatre of Absurd" is a term or particular movement started in the late 1950s. The word "Absurd" means foolishness, senseless, opposed to reason, something silly and ridiculous. The Theatre of the Absurd commonly associated with "Existentialism". Critic Martin Esslin coined the term in his 1960 essay "Theatre of the Absurd".

Largely based on the philosophy of existentialism, absurdism was implemented by a small number of European playwrights. Common elements included illogical plots inhabited by characters that appeared out of harmony with their own existence

Examples of Absurd plays are Samuel Beckett's masterpiece Waiting for Godot'; one of the great plays of the 20th century and "The Myth of Sisyphus' is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus.

Basic elements of Absurd Theatre:

1. Language becomes meaningless

2. Meaningless or seemingly illogical plots

3. Human condition portrayed as meaningless, absurd, illogical

4. Disjoined and fragmented dialogs

5. Actions contradicts the words spoken

These are some of the important absurd elements in the plays.

The Absurd Elements in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party

The play's birthday party is in three acts. The main characters in the play are Meg, Petey, Stanley, Webber, Lulu, Goldberg and McCann. The play centres on the life of the main protagonist Stanley Webber, an unemployed pianist, who has been living as a lodger with Meg and Petey Boles in their sea-side boarding house. Stanley is living in seclusion away from the outside world. However, the relatively peaceful, domestic atmosphere of the boarding house is disturbed by the intrusion of two unknown characters, Goldberg and McCann. The play depicts a tragedy that arose out of insecurity. It projects a shabby boarding house where Stanley Webber, a man in his late thirties has found a refuge from real life situations. He is the central character of the play.

Existentialism

The theme of Absurdity is not a new concept to the history of man's existence. It was used to express human fate against challenges and deeds. The analyzation of the theme isn't clear and yet it shows men's fear to run away from human existence. The ancient works too contain absurdity as an aspect of existence, but it was apparent in expressing the very theme directly. We find the flow of this more clearly in works of those writers after The World War I and World War II.

Absurdity

Even though The Birthday Party seems like a play can be understood easily yet it has elements which make it unique and absurd. The features of absurdity such as unclarity of scenes, dialogues and plot are reflected. The lack of communication is used so strongly that even a pause and silence tells much more which makes the play special. The play isn't complete. unconventional, it has the usual setting as of the contemporary style but uniqueness is seen. when surprise awaits in the form of imagery, unusual circumstances and lack of dialogue or sometimes strange approaches. This play doesn't go to explain everything easily through the dialogues but the play itself reveals much more than the common elements of the play.

Meaningless

The use of technique of meaning and meaninglessness has been intensified by Harold Pinter through the characters of Stanley and Meg. Both Stanley and Meg aspire for some kind of relationship which is usual human expectation. Finally Stanley bends under the pressure. Another feature we observe here is the strange and incomprehensible behaviour of characters which often bewilders the audience. Harold Pinter tries to present a realistic state of human life. The dramatic techniques like solitary life, fear for the unknown future, unwanted circumstances, and anxiety and the meaningless are exceptional.

Helplessness

The Birthday party was the first full length play of Pinter. The play depicts man's helplessness and unease today. The Birthday Party seems like a play that can be understood easily yet it has elements which make it unique and absurd. The feature of absurdity such as unclarity of scenes, dialogues and plot. The lack of communication is used so strongly that even a pause and silence tells much more which makes the play special. The play isn't completely unconventional, it has the usual setting as of the contemporary style but uniqueness is seen when surprise awaits in the form of imagery, unusual circumstances and lack of dialogue or sometimes strange approaches. This play doesn't go to explain everything easily through the dialogues but the play itself reveals much more than the common elements of the play.

Human condition

The characters used by Harold Pinter are similar to modern men's psychology. He tries to become as close as possible to the life of disturb modern life. He explains the basic mood of the characters through the beautiful blend of silence and conventional techniques which sometimes ends in pause. The pause itself convinces something to be interpreted by the audience. Stanley is unwilling to be part of outside worlds and wants to be away from it. It creates anxiety in the mind of the audience.

Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party stands as an allegory for the human conditions of the postmodern postwar era. The meaninglessness and fruitlessness of the human existence of the men is wonderful. portrayed through the use of various methods like mysterious characters, incomplete details, confusing descriptions, unrealistic circumstances, violence, apathy, fragility of language etc.

Conclusion:-

In conclusion, framing a birthday party as an absurd play offers a whimsical lens through which to explore the absurdities of life, societal expectations, and human behavior. Through exaggerated characters, nonsensical situations, and absurd dialogue, the play highlights the absurdity inherent in everyday rituals like birthday celebrations, inviting audiences to reflect on the meaninglessness and absurdity that often lurk beneath the surface of our lives. Ultimately, by embracing the absurdity of existence, the play encourages us to find humor and liberation in the chaos of existence.

References: 

https://www.academia.edu/5307957/Harold_Pinter_Absurdism_and_The_Birthday_Party_

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268410920_The_Language_of_the_Absurd_Theatre_in_Pinter's_Birthday_Party

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