The document provides biographical information about British playwright Harold Pinter and analyzes his play "The Birthday Party". It notes that Pinter was born in 1930 in London, died in 2008, and was known for his "comedies of menace". The term refers to plays that combine comic elements with an underlying sense of menace or threat of violence. "The Birthday Party" from 1957 exemplifies this genre through its ability to shift suddenly between comedy and seriousness, leaving the audience unsure and with a pervasive sense of insecurity.

1.  Name : Parmar Krupa Jivabhai
 Roll No. : 20
 Enrollment No. : 2069108420180040
 M.A.Sem. : 3
 Year : 2017-2019
 Email id : parmarkrupaj25@gmail.com
 Paper No. : 9
 Submitted to : Department of English

2.  Born on 10th October,
1930,in East London,
England.
 Died on the 24th December,
2008, at the age of 78.
 A Playwright, director,
actor, poet and political
activist.
 Known for his so-called
comedies of menace.
 Nobel price winner in
2005.

3. 1. The Room
2. The Birthday Party
3. A Slight Ache
4. The Dumb Waiter
5. The Caretaker

4.  The Comedy of Menace is a
Tragedy with a number of comic
Elements.
 Comedy of Menace is a term
used to describe the plays of David
Campton and Harold Pinter by
Drama critic Irving Wardle.
 Borrowed from the subtitle of Campton’s
Play ‘ The Lunatic view : Comedy of Menace.’
The ‘ Menace ’
involves from
actual violence
in the play or
from on
underlying
sense of
violence
throughout the
play.

6. Comedy
of
Menace
Dark comedy
A
threatening
quality
Dangerous or
troublesome
person or
thing

7.  ‘ The Birthday Party ’
play written in 1957.
 The second full length
play by Harold Pinter.
 Best-known and most
frequently performed
plays.

8.  The Birthday party is a tragedy with a number of comic
element – it is a comedy, which also produced an
overwhelming tragic effect.
 We feel uneasy all the time even when we are laughing
or smiling with amusement. This dual quality gives to
play a unique character.
 The Menace evolves from actual violence in the play or
from underlying of violence throughout the paly.

9.  It is created by Pinter’s ability to drop suddenly from a
high comic level to one deep seriousness.
 By this technique the audience is made aware that the
comedy is only at surface layer.
 The sudden outbreak of violence in the play confirm
this and leave the audience unsure of what will come
next.

10.  It may develop from a feeling of uncertainty and
insecurity. The audience may be made to feel that the
security of the principal character and even the
audience’s own security is threatened by some
impending danger fear.
 This feeling of Menace establishes a strong connection
between character’s predicament and audience’s
personal anxieties.

11.  Frightening effect we find
very much as it is “ Comedy
of Menace ”.
 In movie background
sound play vital role for it.
 In movie we have many
dialogues and scenes such
as Blind men’s buff scene
(Menace) and
interrogation scene (Tragic
element).
 Very much use of
screaming and shouting in
the play.