MA Part 1, Semester II Paper 110A: History of English Literature – From 1900 to 2000

1. Comedy of
Menace in 'The
Room' by Harold
Pinter Prepared by Divya Sheta

2. Name: Divya Sheta
MA Part I, Semester II
Topic :Comedy of Menace in 'The Room' by Harold Pinter
Paper no.110(A): History Of English Literature From
1900 to 2000
Subject Code: 22403
Enrollment Number: 4069206420210033
Contact Info.: divyasheta@gmail.com
Submitted to : S.B.Gardi Department of English,
MK Bhavnagar University.

3. • First Play written by Harold
Pinter in 1957.
• Set in a single small room.
• About a married man and
woman whose names are
"Rose" and "Bert" living in one
of the rooms of a large building.
• Rose: diligent wife in taking
care of her life partner all the
time, feeding and reassuring
him.
• Bert: who remains silent
throughout the whole scene.
About The Play

4. • The phrase “comedy of menace” as a standalone
description inspires both positive and negative feelings.
Comedy is used during a dangerous situation to cause
audiences to draw judgments about a particular character
or communication.(Jamie)
• This phrase is part of the title of a British play called
‘The Lunatic View’-a Comedy of Menace, by David
Campton.(Jamie)
• Irving Ward, a critic in the 1950s, emphasized the phrase
when writing a review of the plays of Harold Pinter.
Ward used "comedy of menace" in a review of several of
Pinter's works, although at the time he had seen only one,
What is Comedy of Menace

5. Comedy of Menace in the Play
• The themes in "The Room" such as
menace, threat and fear are
interconnected. The central characters
are scared out of feeling threatened.
And the author does not give details
about the reason behind their scare or
the identity of the ones threatening
them. So, the whole play is covered
with mystery. The spectators think they
are scared because of indefinite
reasons.(Qais,7)

6. Comedy of Menace in the Play
• The chief causes of menace in "The
Room" are unknown and uncertain.
Additionally, the characters are not only ones
left in the dark. It is said that in such plays not
resolving or answering the questions,
annoying concerns disturb the characters
and the audience altogether(Qais,2)
• Dukore says, they live in a closed
environment that looks like a womb because
they are scared to get out of their small world,
which is especially noticed in the character of
"Rose" who attempts to separate herself
completely from the outside and to be isolated
in her room. (Qais,2)

7. Comedy of Menace in the Play
• Thornely and Roberts (1984: 173) notice that
the author in this play hypothesizes the
characters' incapability to communicate
properly with other people as they feel
uncomfortable in their apartment, the
outside danger disturb them. (Qais,7)
• Rose in fact feels she is under menace by the
basement man and Mr. and Mrs. Sands. So,
she assures the Sands that the owner informed
her of the existence of no vacancy.
Afterwards, Mr. Sands surprised her by telling
that the basement guy informed them of a
vacant room, room No.7 (Qais,7)

8. • However, even though
the room is safe and
secure and have no sign
of unwanted isolation,
there is a threat and
menace waiting outside.
The menace atmosphere
in "The Room" is even
represented by the bad
weather exaggerated by
the characters.

9. • Dukore, Bernard, (1962), The Theatre of Harold Pinter, The Tulane Drama Review,
MIT Press, Vol. 6, No.3
https://literariness.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/The-Theatre-of-Harold-
Pinter.pdf
Jamie Nedderman Last Modified Date: April 10, and Jamie Nedderman Date: April 10.
“What Is Comedy of Menace?” Language Humanities, 10 Apr. 2022,Accessed 15 Apr.
2022.
– https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-comedy-of-menace.htm
• Qais, Aseel. (2019). Harold Pinter's Comedy of Menace in The Room.Accessed 15 Apr.
2022.
– https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336209593_Harold_Pinter%27s_Co
medy_of_Menace_in_The_Room
• “The Room: Harold Pinter's 80th Birthday Celebrated.” The Arts Desk, 19 June
2013,Accessed 15 Apr. 2022.
https://theartsdesk.com/theatre/room-harold-pinters-80th-birthday-celebrated
Work Ciatation