Pinter, Harold (1930-2008), was an English playwright who won the 2005 Nobel Prize in literature. His dramas emphasize a sense of unspoken and sometimes unexplained tensions between the characters. They often focus on the way language can be used to keep the self from being known by others or to distort the truth.
Pinter’s early plays are often called “comedies of menace” because they show ordinary people threatened or attacked by mysterious forces. In The Birthday Party (1958), two sinister men hunt down a meek man living in a boarding house and punish him for some unspecified offense. In A Slight Ache (1959), a silent but menacing derelict frightens a wealthy man into a mental collapse. Other early plays include The Dumb Waiter (1957), The Collection (1962), and The Lover (1963).
In the 1960’s, Pinter explored the ways in which relationships often break down into power struggles. In The Caretaker (1960), two brothers and a tramp form constantly changing alliances against each other. In The Homecoming (1965), a son’s visit with his wife to his family home leads to a rearrangement of the family power structure. In later, more lyrical, plays, Pinter examined how conflicting memories of the past make it impossible to verify the truth of what really happened. These plays include Old Times (1971), No Man’s Land (1975), and Betrayal (1978). In the 1980’s, he turned to more openly political subjects, attacking the repressive methods of totalitarian governments in such plays as One for the Road (1984) and Mountain Language (1988). In Moonlight (1993), Pinter portrayed the loveless relationship between a dying man and his family. Ashes to Ashes (1996) expands on a marital conflict to present a nightmarish vision of political torture.
Pinter was born on Oct. 10, 1930, in London. He wrote many screenplays, directed stage plays, and acted occasionally. Pinter was an outspoken critic of British and U.S. foreign policy. His political writings were collected in Death Etc. (2005). In 2005, Pinter announced he was retiring from playwriting to concentrate on poetry. He died on Dec. 24, 2008.
