related to my education purpose

1. Name: Nupur Vyas
Roll No: 34
year: 2015-17
Paper-9 The Modernist literature
Email id: nupuryas1995@gmail.com
Submitted to M.K.B.U , S.B.Gardy Department of
English, Bhavnagar.
Topic: Language and power politics in The Birthday
Party Play.

2. Harold Pinter’s Life and works
Harold Pinter was a
Nobel Prize winning
English play-wright,
screen writer, director
and actor.His best known plays
include, The birthday
Party (1957), The
homecoming (1964),
And Betrayal(1978), each
of which he adapted for
the screen.

3. Summary of the Play
• The birthday party is about Stanley Webber, an
erstwhile piano player in his 30s, who lives in a
rundown boarding house, run by meg and petey
boles, in an English seaside town.
• Two sinister strangers, Goldberg and McCann, who
arrive supposedly on his birthday on his birthday
and who appear to have come looking him, turn
Stanley’s apparently innocuous birthday party
organized by meg into a nightmare.

4. What is the meaning of power-politics?
• In social science and politics, power is the ability to
influence or outright control the behavior of
people.
• The term ‘authority’ is often used for power
perceived as legitimate by the social structure.
• The focal point of the study of political institutions
is power and its uses.
• Power exists in all types of social- relationships.
• For Foucault, power relationships are present in all
aspects of society.

5. Continue…
• Here I have taken power politics in two ways, 1.Men
and Women relation 2. Authority and common
people.
• Politics of language and how it works?
1. When you are in controlling position , you are
controlling the language, whatever you say it can
considered as truth.
2. When you are in power ,you are giving meaning to
the language whatever it may be bad or good.

6. • Political language are full of rhetoric and people can
get easily swead away through language.

7. Examples from the text
• When the play starts,
Meg: Is that you Petey? This dialogue shows Men-
(Pause) women relationship. Here
Petey is that you? Wife is constantly asking
(pause) that is that u, Petey ,but
Petey: What? Husband felt that no need
Meg: Is that you? to give answer. She daily
Petey: yes, It’s me. Asks him but husband
don’t care for her to give
answer.

8. Meg: Is it good?
Petey: Not bad.
Meg: what does it say?
Petey: Nothing Much.
Meg: you read me out
some nice bits yesterday.
Petey: yes, well I haven’t
finished this one yet.
Meg: Will you tell me
when you come to
something good?
Petey: Yes. (pause)
Here Meg asking for what
the newspaper says? Meg
is very much dependent to
Petey and she told that tell
me some good news of
yesterday. This shows she
don’t want to listen bad
news.

9. • Goldberg : What would your old mum say ,
Webber?
• McCann : Why did you betray us?
• Goldberg : You hurt me weber. You're playing a
dirty game.
• McCann: That’s Black and tan fact.
• McCann: you betrayed the organization. I know
him!
• Stanley: you don’t.
• Goldberg : What can you see without glasses?
• Stanley : anything
• Goldberg: Take of his glasses?

10. • This introgession scene is all about how
language plays vital role in overpowering us.
Language is used as weapon to overpower the
people. It is used for verbal power.

11. Thank you