Chief Characteristics Of Comedy Of Menace

Paper No. 10/A
Paper Name - History Of English Literature From 1900 To 2000
Sem - 2

1. NAME – NIYATI VYAS ROLL NO. 14 SEM – 2 PAPER NO. 10A PAPER NAME - History of English Literature – From 1900 to 2000 TOPIC NAME – CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS OF COMEDY OF MENACE SUBMITTED TO – PROF. DILIP BARAD DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

2. WHAT IS COMEDY OF MENACE Comedy of menace is a term used to describe the plays of David Campton & Harold Pinter by drama critic Irving wardle. Borrowed from the subtitle of campton’s play, ‘ THE LUNATIC VIEW : A COMEDY OF MENACE ‘. ‘Comedy of menace’ and ‘Comedies of menace’ caught on and have been used generally in advertisement and in critical Account, notices and reviews to describe Pinter’s early plays and some of his work as well.

3. The comedy of menace is a tragedy with a number of comic elements. It is a comedy which also produces an overwhelming tragic effect. Throughout the play we are kept amused and yet throughout the play we find ourselves also on the brink of terror. Some indefinable and vague fear keeps our nerves on an edge. We feel uneasy all the time even when we are laughing or smiling with amusement . This dual quality gives to the play a unique character.

4. “MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THE SPEECH ONLY SEEMS To BE FUNNY THE MAN IN QUESTION IS ACTUALLY FIGHTING A BATTLE FOR HIS LIFE.” - PINTER

5. PINTER’S COMEDY OF MENACE have a rather simplistic setting they might focus on one or two powerful images and usually are set in just one room. A powerful force that isn’t specially defined to the audience threatens character in the play. The atmosphere of menace is also created by pinter’s ability to drop suddenly from a high comic level to one of deep seriousness. By this technique the audience is made aware that the comedy is only at surface layer. The sudden outbreaks of violence in the play confirms this and leave the audience unsure of what will come next?.

6. CONCLUSION Thus, to conclude we may say that the absurdity of the play which is represented through menacing effect has it’s own symbolic significance. It tries to explain the human predicament in this indifferent and hostile world. At the end of the play in Act III, Petey is tongue tied and silent , his emotions and thoughts remain unexpressed and bottled up.

7. REFERENCE Wardle, Irving. "The Birthday Party". Encore 5 (July–Aug. 1958): 39–40. Rpt. in The Encore Reader: A Chronicle of the New Drama. Ed. Charles Marowitz, Tom Milne, and Owen Hale. London: Methuen, 1965. 76–78. (Reissued as: New Theatre Voices of the Fifties and Sixties. London: Eyre Methuen, 1981.) "Comedy of Menace".  Encore  5 (Sept. – Oct. 1958): 28–33. Rpt. in  The Encore Reader  and  New Theatre Voices  86–91. https://whichihaveacquired.blogspot.com/2018/07/printers-birthday-party-as-comedy-of.html?m=1

8. THANK YOU… . .