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Lee, Tin Yan Grace. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [106-111]). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Laughter and Man --- p.15 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Laughter and Man's Obligation to Persist in Beckett's Endgame --- p.37 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Laughter and Self-Knowledge in Pinter's The Birthday Party --- p.68 / Conclusion --- p.100

Thesis (M. A. (English)) --University of the North, 1989 / Refer to the document

Despite the broadening of the subject matter of English drama in its ???new wave??? period from the late nineteen fifties, it is striking to see how much of enduring mainstream English drama has a domestic focus. The purpose of this thesis is to provide the first full-length study of marriage on the English stage from 1930-1990. The thesis examines the way in which a number of important playwrights have fashioned drama from the conflict between the public, or institutional, functions of marriage and the private, or relational, functions of marriage. The thesis places this conflict into historical context. This will show that the conflict between the private and public aspects of marriage is not one of clearly opposed opposites but one that is made dynamic by significant social and legal changes to the status, function and conventions of marriage. The thesis also demonstrates that this conflict is further complicated by class considerations and by the particular circumstances of each marital partnership. From the wealth of material available, I have chosen to examine in detail the work of seven playwrights who have made significant contributions to domestic drama or domestic comedy. Playwrights have been selected because their plays gained a strong audience on first performance and because, through numerous revivals and through publication of scripts, they have earned an enduring place in English drama. John Osborne???s Look Back in Anger, which in 1956, ushered in the ???new wave???, is pivotal play for discussion. The previous generation is represented by Noel Coward, J. B. Priestley and Terence Rattigan. The ???new wave??? and its aftermath are represented by Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard and, finally Alan Ayckbourn. Despite a wide variety of approaches to the topic of marriage, these writers tend to assume a middle class audience and to follow or adapt the traditions of realism or comedy of manners. This thesis argues that despite real, even radical, changes to marriage, to accepted sexual practices and to the status of women in the sixty years under discussion, the mainstream theatre has tended to be conservative in its presentation of marital and sexual matters, especially in continuing to reinscribe a public/private opposition determined by gender.

The study elucidates the relation of Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to Hamlet on the one hand and to the Theatre of the Absurd on the other. The two plays chosen to represent the Theatre of the Absurd are Samuel Beckett1 s Waiting for Godot and Harold Pinter* s The Caretaker. Since Stoppard is admired as a master craftsman of language, the emphasis is on his use of language. The extent to which the use of the cliché characterizes the three absurd plays is examined. It is found that the language area covered by the term cliche is not clearly defined and that the term is not uniformly applied. The inquiry centres on finding features, such as repetition, music-hall passages and "ready-made" language, that could explain why the dialogue in the three plays might appear cliche-ridden and on comparing the three plays in respect of these features. 　 The study further draws parallels between Stoppard's play and Waiting for Godot in the use of various techniques, such as misunderstandings, anticlimax and afterthought. It is found that there is often a conscious adoption by Stoppard of Beckett's techniques. To clarify the relation of Stoppard's play to Hamlet various aspects of the two plays are studied. These aspects include changes introduced into stereotyped expressions, punning, the use of parody and the handling of two specific motives, madness and death. Parallels are found in spite of the fact that several centuries separate the two plays, not least in respect to style, technique and language. / digitalisering@umu

L'objecte d'estudi d'aquesta tesi sorgeix de diverses consideracions. En primer lloc, si bé les referències a l'ús del llenguatge en les obres de H. Pinter són relativament abundoses en la critica corresponent, la major part se centren en el que s'anomena la textura del llenguatge. Això suposa deixar de banda l'estructura dels diàlegs i, per tant, passar per alt el tret distintiu de qualsevol text dramàtic: el seu caràcter interactiu. D'altra banda, aquesta no és una tendència exclusiva de la critica pinteriana. sinó que, en general, hi ha una manca d'estudis sobre l'estructura del diàleg dramàtic. En aquest marc, l'aportació principal de la tesi consisteix a proposar una via d'aproximació alternativa a la producció teatral pinteriana a partir de l'anàlisi detinguda de l'estructura dels seus diàlegs. L'objectiu fonamental de l'anàlisi consisteix a tractar de demostrar que la producció teatral de Pinter tematitza el llenguatge, tot entenent-lo com a mecanisme de poder, susceptible de ser utilitzat per tal de negociar rols i relacions, així com per construir versions de la realitat i mirar d'imposar-les als altres. Aquest objectiu s'assoleix mitjançant l'anàlisi detallada dels diàlegs de sis textos de Pinter provinents de diferents moments de la seva carrera: The Room (1957), The Birthday Party (1957), The Caretaker (1960), The Homecoming (1965), Old Times (1971) i Mountain Language (1988).Per delimitar encara més l'objecte d'estudi, la tesi parteix de les tres funcions del diàleg dramàtic que la semiologia contemporània considera bàsiques: la deictica, la referencial i la pragmàtica. La tercera, que és fonamental en qualsevol obra dramàtica ja que és responsable que el diàleg n'encarni l'acció, assoleix una prominència insòlita en la producció teatral de Pinter fins a principis dels anys 80, prominència que respon precisament a l'intent per part de l'autor de tematitzar una preocupació fonamental pel llenguatge com a mecanisme constructor de relacions i de realitats. En la tesi se suggereix que en l'obra dramàtica de Pinter fins a la dècada dels 80 es produeix un fenomen de desautomatització de la funció pragmàtica que la fa especialment tangible, la problematitza. També s'apunta que aquesta innovació formal és la principal causant de la idiosincràsia dels diàlegs pinterians i, també, allò que pot explicar bona part de la història de la recepció critica de la producció teatral de l'autor.És precisament per tal de respectar aquesta idiosincràsia i, alhora, dur a terme l'objectiu abans mencionat, que les eines que s'apliquen a l'estudi de l'estructura dels diàlegs pinterians provenen de l'anàlisi del discurs: es tracta dels conceptes fonamentals de la teoria dels actes de parla, del principi de Cooperació de H.P. Grice i les diverses possibilitats de transgressió de les seves màximes, del treball de J. Laver sobre la comunicació fàtica, del sistema (pro)nominal i la seva càrrega funcional, i del Principi de Cortesia de G.N. Leech.L'ús d'aquest model analític aporta nova llum sobre els textos pinterians seleccionats i permet d'assolir l'objectiu de la tesi anteriorment esmentat. Així, l'anàlisi de The Room mira de proporcionar una alternativa a les lectures de caire simbòlic que se"n solen fer, tot argumentant que es tracta d'una obra pionera des del punt de vista de l'exploració pinteriana del llenguatge com a mecanisme constructor de relacions i de versions de la realitat. De fet, Rose, el personatge principal, encarna un prototip dins de la producció teatral de Pinter: el del personatge que utilitza el llenguatge per construir una versió de la realitat i tractar d'imposar-la als altres. De The Birthday Party cal destacar-ne l'anihilació lingüística a què es veu sotmès Stanley en l'escena de l'in- terrogatori, que arrenca d'arrel el pilar bàsic de la seva existència: el llenguatge, l'eina que li permet de construir mons alternatius per mitigar el seu sentiment de fracàs en el present. Durant l'interrogatori, Goldberg i McCann posen en joc un seguit de recursos verbals per tal de crear una ficció comunicativa que els permeti obligar Stanley a acceptar el paper subordinat de simple "contestador" i, finalment, reduir-lo a la impotència lingüística. L'acció de The Caretaker se centra en el procés d'exploració mútua entre Aston, Mick i Davies, procés en el qual cadascun fa ús d'estratègies d'interacció verbal clarament diferenciades: des de la falta de perspicàcia lingüística d'Aston al control absolut dels recursos verbals de Mick, passant per les limitades i repetitives estratagemes de Davies. L'obra s"estructura al voltant del doble motiu contacte/separació, si bé, com demostra l'anàlisi corresponent, no es tracta d'una equivalència unívoca entre paraula i contacte, silenci i separació.The Homecoming és una de les peces més complexes i controvertides de l'autor. Pinter hi explora l'ús del llenguatge en la construcció d'estructures de poder en l'entorn familiar i en el context de la relació entre els dos sexes, tot apuntant al fet que el repartiment de rols que s'hi sol produir és el resultat d'una lluita pel poder en què el llenguatge, com a mediatitzador de la realitat, juga un paper fonamental. La peça gira a l'entorn de l'encontre entre dues unitats familiars cadascuna de les quals conté una veu subversiva: Lenny i Ruth. L'acostament que protagonitzen al llarg de l'obra culmina amb la construcció d'una nova estructura familiar amb ells al centre. Però la seva victòria està basada en una ambigilitat radical que posa en qüestió el paper subversiu que juguen durant bona part de l'obra: a l'últim, no són capaços de transcendir uns esquemes apresos i imbricats en el propi llenguatge. En The Homecoming també es consolida el recurs consistent en la narració o construcció verbal de versions del passat per part dels personatges amb intencions estratègiques en el present. Aquest recurs es detecta ja, fragmentàriament, en The Room, i va en augment en la producció teatral pinteriana fins que assoleix un punt culminant en Old Times. En aquesta obra, el passat té una existència purament verbal, i Kate, Deeley i Anna, per torns, s'erigeixen en narradors dels vells temps. Les diverses versions del passat, per tant, no són més o menys "certes", sinó que totes exemplifiquen el tema tipicament pinterià de la construcció verbal dels fets segons les necessitats estratègiques del present. En definitiva, en l'anàlisi d'Old Times ha resultat imprescindible insistir en l'enorme pes de la funció pragmàtica: els discursos narratius dels tres personatges són, sobretot, actes de parla i, per tant, el seu principal mitjà d'interacció.En les cinc peces comentades fins ara, i en especial en Old Times, la realitat se'ns presenta com a inconstatable sotmesa a una multiplicació incansable de construccions verbals per part dels personatges. En canvi, les obres politiques de Pinter posteriors a 1980, com ara Mountain Language, posen de manifest un element de ruptura fonamental, ja que si bé el llenguatge com a constructor de relacions i de realitats continua sent la preocupació central del dramaturg, la seva actitud davant d'aquest fenomen sembla haver variat: ara és un atribut exclusiu dels representants de l'estat represor, i és presentat com un mecanisme de control i de manipulació que cal denunciar i condemnar. Paral.lelament, es produeix una reivindicació de la importància de la funció referencial com a via d'expressió de realitats verificables i indubtables, com ara la repressió i la tortura. / This thesis puts forward an alternative approach to the study of language in the plays or Harold Pinter which is based on the analysis of the structure of dramatic dialogue. Six plays by Pinter are selected from different points in his career ("The Room" (1957), "The Birthday Party" (1957), "The Caretaker" (1960), "The Homecoming" (1965), "Old Times" (1971), and "Mountain Language" (1988)), and their dialogue is analysed by means of tools derived from Discourse Analysis: the basic notions in Speech Act theory, H.P. Grice's Cooperative Principle, J. Laver's work on phatic communion, the functional load of the (pro)nominal system, and G.N. Leech's PoIiteness Principle. It is argued that in Pinter's work for the stage language is presented as a power device, as the means through which characters negotiate roles and relationships, and also construct versions of reality which they attempt to impose on others. Such a view of language becomes thematised in Pinter's drama. In his output up to 1980, the thematisation of verbal interaction is reflected in a foregrounding of the pragmatic function of dramatic dialogue which, it is claimed. may account for the frequently mentioned idiosyncratic nature of Pinter's language, as well as for much of the history of the critical reception of his work, Language as power is still the playwright's major concern after 1980, but as his plays have become openly politicised, so they have begun to insist on the value of the referential function as the means to express unquestionable realities, such as torture. The strategic exploitation of the pragmatic function is presented in Pinter's post-1980 plays, such as "Mountain Language", as a tool for political manipulation and oppression and, thus, as a phenomenon to be denounced and condemned.

Based on Harold Pinter&#039 / s three plays &ldquo / The Homecoming,&rdquo / &ldquo / The Caretaker&rdquo / and &ldquo / The Dumb Waiter,&rdquo / the aim of this study is to explore the idea that an individual cannot be a speaking member of the Symbolic Order, thus of the society unless s/he obeys the prohibitions/commands of language, a concept on which both Pinter and Lacan put great emphasis in their own vision. For Pinter human beings lead a life controlled by some unknown powers and build a disastrous subjective world devoid of linguistic competence. As for Lacan, language imprisons, castrates and pushes the subject into a claustrophobic world, which is portrayed strikingly by Pinter. The result is equally impressive / for Lacan: neurosis or psychosis, oscillating between the Orders/Registers of the Symbolic, Imaginary and Real, not possessing an assigned role in the community, and for Pinter: an absurd world where there is no meaning but a sense of loss. Lacan&rsquo / s explanation for the reasons of this absurd world focuses on two significant factors : the m(O)ther, who meets the basic needs in the Imaginary Order/stage of infancy and who introduces the Father to the child, and the Father, who will enable the child to obey the prohibitions of language, and thus to secure the child&rsquo / s adulthood. Throughout the study the points which will be highlighted are as follows: the characteristics of the absurd drama, the place of Harold Pinter in the contemporary theatre and the justification of a Lacanian reading, subjectivity&rsquo / s constitution.

Despite the broadening of the subject matter of English drama in its ???new wave??? period from the late nineteen fifties, it is striking to see how much of enduring mainstream English drama has a domestic focus. The purpose of this thesis is to provide the first full-length study of marriage on the English stage from 1930-1990. The thesis examines the way in which a number of important playwrights have fashioned drama from the conflict between the public, or institutional, functions of marriage and the private, or relational, functions of marriage. The thesis places this conflict into historical context. This will show that the conflict between the private and public aspects of marriage is not one of clearly opposed opposites but one that is made dynamic by significant social and legal changes to the status, function and conventions of marriage. The thesis also demonstrates that this conflict is further complicated by class considerations and by the particular circumstances of each marital partnership. From the wealth of material available, I have chosen to examine in detail the work of seven playwrights who have made significant contributions to domestic drama or domestic comedy. Playwrights have been selected because their plays gained a strong audience on first performance and because, through numerous revivals and through publication of scripts, they have earned an enduring place in English drama. John Osborne???s Look Back in Anger, which in 1956, ushered in the ???new wave???, is pivotal play for discussion. The previous generation is represented by Noel Coward, J. B. Priestley and Terence Rattigan. The ???new wave??? and its aftermath are represented by Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard and, finally Alan Ayckbourn. Despite a wide variety of approaches to the topic of marriage, these writers tend to assume a middle class audience and to follow or adapt the traditions of realism or comedy of manners. This thesis argues that despite real, even radical, changes to marriage, to accepted sexual practices and to the status of women in the sixty years under discussion, the mainstream theatre has tended to be conservative in its presentation of marital and sexual matters, especially in continuing to reinscribe a public/private opposition determined by gender.

Text in English / Although initially dismissed as superficial, Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing, and Patrick Marber’s Closer use the theme of marital betrayal as a trope to investigate metatheatrical and epistemological issues. This study aims to demonstrate how these three plays define and explore the concept of authenticity within the fictional as well as the actual world; how arbitrary the construction and mediation of the characters’ identities are, not only from their own perspective, but also from the audience’s; the significance of the audience’s role in these plays and how issues of authenticity, fictionality and dishonesty impact on a genre that depends on illusion. This study intends to provide a new interpretation of these three texts through an analysis drawn from postmodern and poststructuralist theories, concerning the concept of authenticity within art and language. This study finds that the fictional worlds in these plays are created through mediation, which includes everyday language as well as complex works of art. Authenticity is shown to be an elusive concept. Language is either unsuccessfully used to force authentic responses from characters, or as a shield. In Betrayal, language functions as a protective barrier, preventing the characters from knowing one another. The Real Thing suggests that although inauthenticity may be established, the inverse is not necessarily true. In Closer, the characters try in vain to access authenticity through different registers of language. Furthermore, neither the body nor the mind is shown to be the locus of authenticity in Closer. Within the postmodern context where originality is impossible, mimicry is not seen as something external and inauthentic, but as inextricably part of human existence. The audience is drawn into the fictional world of these plays as its members are able to identify with the disillusionment of the characters and their inability to form a definitive view of each other. Simultaneously, the audience is ousted from the fictional world by being reminded of the author’s presence through metatheatrical devices. These plays take advantage of the fictional status of theatre to explore issues of authenticity, positioning them in direct opposition to postdramatic and verbatim plays. / Afrikaans & Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Theory of Literature)

Text in English / Although initially dismissed as superficial, Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing, and Patrick Marber’s Closer use the theme of marital betrayal as a trope to investigate metatheatrical and epistemological issues. This study aims to demonstrate how these three plays define and explore the concept of authenticity within the fictional as well as the actual world; how arbitrary the construction and mediation of the characters’ identities are, not only from their own perspective, but also from the audience’s; the significance of the audience’s role in these plays and how issues of authenticity, fictionality and dishonesty impact on a genre that depends on illusion. This study intends to provide a new interpretation of these three texts through an analysis drawn from postmodern and poststructuralist theories, concerning the concept of authenticity within art and language. This study finds that the fictional worlds in these plays are created through mediation, which includes everyday language as well as complex works of art. Authenticity is shown to be an elusive concept. Language is either unsuccessfully used to force authentic responses from characters, or as a shield. In Betrayal, language functions as a protective barrier, preventing the characters from knowing one another. The Real Thing suggests that although inauthenticity may be established, the inverse is not necessarily true. In Closer, the characters try in vain to access authenticity through different registers of language. Furthermore, neither the body nor the mind is shown to be the locus of authenticity in Closer. Within the postmodern context where originality is impossible, mimicry is not seen as something external and inauthentic, but as inextricably part of human existence. The audience is drawn into the fictional world of these plays as its members are able to identify with the disillusionment of the characters and their inability to form a definitive view of each other. Simultaneously, the audience is ousted from the fictional world by being reminded of the author’s presence through metatheatrical devices. These plays take advantage of the fictional status of theatre to explore issues of authenticity, positioning them in direct opposition to postdramatic and verbatim plays. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Theory of Literature)