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Name: Vidhya Pandya
Semester: MA – 3
Roll No: 32
Paper No:-9 The Modernist Literature
Enrolment No: 2069108420190031
Email id: vidhupandya10497@gamil.com
Year: 2018 -20
Submitted to: Department of English , Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.
Assignment's topic: 'The Birthday Party' has been called comedy of Menace. Do you agree?
● Introduction:-
The label a comedy of Menace, was first used in 1957 by David Campton in the sub-title of his play “The Lunatic View”, and was a year later applied to the plays of Pinter in a magazine article.
Yes, I am agree with this above title that “The Birthday Party” has been called comedy of Menace. This is certainly an appropriate title for The Birthday Party. A comedy of Menace is a play in which the laughter of the audience in some or all situations is accompanied, or immediately followed, by a feeling of some impending disaster.
● A Sense of Danger Accompanying the Audience’s Laughter:-
Throughout such a play, the audience feel uneasy even while laughing, because of its perception of some threat, explicit or implicit, to the principal character and to the audience itself. In other words, the audience is made aware, in the very midst of its laughter, some of Menace. The menace proceeds from potential or actual violence in the play or from an underlying sense of violence throughout the play. Or, the menace may proceed 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, are exposed by some danger. The label “a comedy of Menace” thus implies the uneasy laughter which comes from nervousness, the laughter by which the audience tries to demonstrate that there is a safe distance between itself and what is sees or hears in the play. The connection between the character’ difficult situation and the audience’s private anxieties must be established strongly, or there will be no menace felt, and no reason for the defensive laughter.
● Amusing Dialogues Followed by One Suggestive of Menace:-
In “The Birthday Party” this mingling of comedy with a perception of danger pervades the whole play and, at times, becomes very obvious. Act 1 of the play opens with an amusing dialogue between Meg and Petey, and this is following by an amusing dialogue between Meg and Stanley. These amusing dialogues occupy several pages and, on the stage, would take at least fifteen minutes of acting time. But then comes the menace. Meg informs Stanley that she is expecting two gentleman who are coming to stay in the boarding-house for a couple of nights. Stanley at first refuses to believe what Meg has said. But she informs him that Petey had told her that very morning that the two gentleman had met Petey on the previous night and had expressed a wish to come and stay in this boarding-house. Meg says further that this boarding-house is on the approved list. There is something about this piece of information pertaining to the two expected visitors that disturbs Stanley. He seems to experience some feeling of apprehension and, in order to ward off the danger which he smells, he says that somebody is simply trying to throw dust into Meg's eyes and that nobody will come to stay here. Moments later Stanley tries to impress Meg with his own importance by asking her if she realizes, while talking to him, who he is and what he is.
● The Menace Resulting from the Reference to the “Job”:-
The amusing dialogue between Stanley and Lulu is followed by a dialogue between Goldberg and McCann who now arrive at the boarding-house. This dialogue again produces a feeling of menace in the hearts of the audience. McCann is already feeling nervous, but Goldberg asks him to relax, and to enjoy his “holiday” here. Says Goldberg: “ McCann, what are you so nervous about?” Pull yourself together.” McCann is feeling worried about the job which Goldberg and he have to execute here. He would like to know what exactly the nature of this job is because he is ignorant of it while Goldberg has all the details. McCann's anxiety about the job makes the audience anxious too. McCann says that, if Goldberg tells him what kind of a job they have come here to do, he would ask no further questions. Goldberg does not disclose to him the nature of the job but assures him that no harm will come to either of them in the course of their execution of the job. The audience naturally suspects that some criminal act has to be performed by these two men.
● Our Anxiety, Followed Immediately by Amusement:-
Meg now returns from her shopping. Goldberg questions her not only about her husband but more particularly about the lodger she has already got in the boarding-house. Goldberg’s curiosity about this lodger, namely Stanley, again gives rise to a feeling of anxiety in our minds because we begin to feel that the job which these two men have come to accomplish may have something to do with Stanley. But just when we are feeling a bit anxious about Stanley, Meg amuses us greatly by giving to Goldberg a garbled version of what Stanley had told her about the two concerts. Meg's muddle- headedness makes her version a funny one. The pun on the word “tip” here is particularly amusing.
● Comedy and Menace in the Cross-examination of Stanley:-
Then Goldberg appears on the scene. In a reminiscent mood he talks about the girl with whom he used to go out on Fridays when he was a young. But Stanley, feeling worried about his own safety, adopts an aggressive posture towards two men and tells them that there is no accommodation in this boarding-house for them and that they must leave. When McCann brings the bottles of whisky, Stanley says that this boarding-house does not have the license to serve drinks or to permit drinking. Stanley's aggressiveness, however, proves absolutely ineffective because Goldberg completely ignores Stanley’s plea. Goldberg wants Stanley to sit down but Stanley refuses to obey. After a good deal of argument Stanley does sit down but only after McCann has sat down sit. In the course of this argument there is a hint of violence when McCann says that he would “kick the shit” out of Stanley. Stanley is then subjected by the two men to a gruelling Cross-examination. This situation is the most dramatic in the whole play, and it also perhaps the most striking example of the mingling of comedy and Menace as well. The questions are amusing because they are a kind of hotch-potch, having no connection at all with one another, and in some case mutually contradictory. And they are menacing because singly as well as collectively they constitute an arraignment of Stanley. Here are a few selected questions creating this two- fold effect of mirth and fear on us:
Here are some examples from original text:-
Why did you kill your wife?
Why did you never get married?
Webber! Why did you change your name?
Is the number 846 possible or necessary?
Why don’t you pay the rent?
What about Ireland?
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Chicken? Egg? Which came first?
What makes you think you exist?
● The Menace, Heightened:-
Then the birthday party begins. There is plenty of fun and amusement. But Stanley sits silent and still, after the terrible ordeal through which he has been as a result of the interrogation and the bullying. Perhaps Stanley is also thinking at this time of what might come next. Blind man's buff follows. Everybody seems to be enjoying the game but, when there is a blackout, Stanley tries to strangle Meg and, after being pushed away by Goldberg and McCann, he tries to rape Lulu. The two persecutors then advance threatening towards him, and here menace becomes most pronounced. Act 2 ends at this point. Act 2 is thus rich in comedy buy it is also bristles with threats of violence. The Cross-examination of Stanley is the high point of the menace in this Act, but the menace becomes even more serious by implication when Goldberg & McCann advance threateningly towards Stanley after it has been discovered that he had tried to rape Lulu. Thus this Act, which opened with tension between Stanley and McCann, ends with a much greater tension between Stanley and the two intruders.
● The climax of Menace, Followed by a Bit of Comedy:-
Then we see Stanley once again. He has undergone a complete transformation both as regards his appearance and his state of mind. He is dressed in a dark, well-cut suit, and a white collar, and he is clean-shaven. He thus presents a striking contrast to his appearance in the first two Acts. He holds his broken glasses in his hand and he is almost speechless. There is more menace when this unfortunate man is subjected to another deluge of words by the two persecutors. This time the two men ask no questions. This time they first describe his miserable condition and then give him all sorts of promises and assurances with regard to his future. This brainwashing scene reminds us of the earlier scene when the two men had subjected their victim to a cruel interrogation. Goldberg now says that he would take Stanley to Monty for treatment. Petey makes a feeble and futile effort to prevent the two men from taking Stanley away. There is a hint of menace in the two men's offering to take Petey also along with then. Ultimately Goldberg and McCann take Stanley away, thus giving a concrete shape to the menace and the terror which the arrival of the two men had posed to the security of Stanley who had hidden himself from the outside world in Meg's boarding-house. Here, indeed we have a tragic situation, with the menace reaching it’s highest point, because we do not know what would happen to Stanley. However, this tragic situation given way to a bit of comedy when Meg, returning from the market, tells Petey that she was the belle of the ball at last night’s party.
● Conclusion:-
So thus, at the end of the play, we can see that audiences are given unsolved enigma about what has been of Stanley which is of cardinal significance of Harold Pinter's “The Birthday Party”. This play is the perfect example of comedy of Menace. Menace and fear do not come from extraordinary sinister people but from you and me; it is all a matter of circumstances.' (Pinter, Harold).
● References:-
Harold Pinter –“The Birthday Party” by Ramji Call ..Rama Brothers.
https://whichihaveacquired.blogspot.com/2018/07/printers-birthday-party-as-comedy-of.html?m=1
Name: Vidhya Pandya
Semester: MA – 3
Roll No: 32
Paper No:-9 The Modernist Literature
Enrolment No: 2069108420190031
Email id: vidhupandya10497@gamil.com
Year: 2018 -20
Submitted to: Department of English , Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.
Assignment's topic: 'The Birthday Party' has been called comedy of Menace. Do you agree?
● Introduction:-
The label a comedy of Menace, was first used in 1957 by David Campton in the sub-title of his play “The Lunatic View”, and was a year later applied to the plays of Pinter in a magazine article.
Yes, I am agree with this above title that “The Birthday Party” has been called comedy of Menace. This is certainly an appropriate title for The Birthday Party. A comedy of Menace is a play in which the laughter of the audience in some or all situations is accompanied, or immediately followed, by a feeling of some impending disaster.
● A Sense of Danger Accompanying the Audience’s Laughter:-
Throughout such a play, the audience feel uneasy even while laughing, because of its perception of some threat, explicit or implicit, to the principal character and to the audience itself. In other words, the audience is made aware, in the very midst of its laughter, some of Menace. The menace proceeds from potential or actual violence in the play or from an underlying sense of violence throughout the play. Or, the menace may proceed 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, are exposed by some danger. The label “a comedy of Menace” thus implies the uneasy laughter which comes from nervousness, the laughter by which the audience tries to demonstrate that there is a safe distance between itself and what is sees or hears in the play. The connection between the character’ difficult situation and the audience’s private anxieties must be established strongly, or there will be no menace felt, and no reason for the defensive laughter.
● Amusing Dialogues Followed by One Suggestive of Menace:-
In “The Birthday Party” this mingling of comedy with a perception of danger pervades the whole play and, at times, becomes very obvious. Act 1 of the play opens with an amusing dialogue between Meg and Petey, and this is following by an amusing dialogue between Meg and Stanley. These amusing dialogues occupy several pages and, on the stage, would take at least fifteen minutes of acting time. But then comes the menace. Meg informs Stanley that she is expecting two gentleman who are coming to stay in the boarding-house for a couple of nights. Stanley at first refuses to believe what Meg has said. But she informs him that Petey had told her that very morning that the two gentleman had met Petey on the previous night and had expressed a wish to come and stay in this boarding-house. Meg says further that this boarding-house is on the approved list. There is something about this piece of information pertaining to the two expected visitors that disturbs Stanley. He seems to experience some feeling of apprehension and, in order to ward off the danger which he smells, he says that somebody is simply trying to throw dust into Meg's eyes and that nobody will come to stay here. Moments later Stanley tries to impress Meg with his own importance by asking her if she realizes, while talking to him, who he is and what he is.
● The Menace Resulting from the Reference to the “Job”:-
The amusing dialogue between Stanley and Lulu is followed by a dialogue between Goldberg and McCann who now arrive at the boarding-house. This dialogue again produces a feeling of menace in the hearts of the audience. McCann is already feeling nervous, but Goldberg asks him to relax, and to enjoy his “holiday” here. Says Goldberg: “ McCann, what are you so nervous about?” Pull yourself together.” McCann is feeling worried about the job which Goldberg and he have to execute here. He would like to know what exactly the nature of this job is because he is ignorant of it while Goldberg has all the details. McCann's anxiety about the job makes the audience anxious too. McCann says that, if Goldberg tells him what kind of a job they have come here to do, he would ask no further questions. Goldberg does not disclose to him the nature of the job but assures him that no harm will come to either of them in the course of their execution of the job. The audience naturally suspects that some criminal act has to be performed by these two men.
● Our Anxiety, Followed Immediately by Amusement:-
Meg now returns from her shopping. Goldberg questions her not only about her husband but more particularly about the lodger she has already got in the boarding-house. Goldberg’s curiosity about this lodger, namely Stanley, again gives rise to a feeling of anxiety in our minds because we begin to feel that the job which these two men have come to accomplish may have something to do with Stanley. But just when we are feeling a bit anxious about Stanley, Meg amuses us greatly by giving to Goldberg a garbled version of what Stanley had told her about the two concerts. Meg's muddle- headedness makes her version a funny one. The pun on the word “tip” here is particularly amusing.
● Comedy and Menace in the Cross-examination of Stanley:-
Then Goldberg appears on the scene. In a reminiscent mood he talks about the girl with whom he used to go out on Fridays when he was a young. But Stanley, feeling worried about his own safety, adopts an aggressive posture towards two men and tells them that there is no accommodation in this boarding-house for them and that they must leave. When McCann brings the bottles of whisky, Stanley says that this boarding-house does not have the license to serve drinks or to permit drinking. Stanley's aggressiveness, however, proves absolutely ineffective because Goldberg completely ignores Stanley’s plea. Goldberg wants Stanley to sit down but Stanley refuses to obey. After a good deal of argument Stanley does sit down but only after McCann has sat down sit. In the course of this argument there is a hint of violence when McCann says that he would “kick the shit” out of Stanley. Stanley is then subjected by the two men to a gruelling Cross-examination. This situation is the most dramatic in the whole play, and it also perhaps the most striking example of the mingling of comedy and Menace as well. The questions are amusing because they are a kind of hotch-potch, having no connection at all with one another, and in some case mutually contradictory. And they are menacing because singly as well as collectively they constitute an arraignment of Stanley. Here are a few selected questions creating this two- fold effect of mirth and fear on us:
Here are some examples from original text:-
Why did you kill your wife?
Why did you never get married?
Webber! Why did you change your name?
Is the number 846 possible or necessary?
Why don’t you pay the rent?
What about Ireland?
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Chicken? Egg? Which came first?
What makes you think you exist?
● The Menace, Heightened:-
Then the birthday party begins. There is plenty of fun and amusement. But Stanley sits silent and still, after the terrible ordeal through which he has been as a result of the interrogation and the bullying. Perhaps Stanley is also thinking at this time of what might come next. Blind man's buff follows. Everybody seems to be enjoying the game but, when there is a blackout, Stanley tries to strangle Meg and, after being pushed away by Goldberg and McCann, he tries to rape Lulu. The two persecutors then advance threatening towards him, and here menace becomes most pronounced. Act 2 ends at this point. Act 2 is thus rich in comedy buy it is also bristles with threats of violence. The Cross-examination of Stanley is the high point of the menace in this Act, but the menace becomes even more serious by implication when Goldberg & McCann advance threateningly towards Stanley after it has been discovered that he had tried to rape Lulu. Thus this Act, which opened with tension between Stanley and McCann, ends with a much greater tension between Stanley and the two intruders.
● The climax of Menace, Followed by a Bit of Comedy:-
Then we see Stanley once again. He has undergone a complete transformation both as regards his appearance and his state of mind. He is dressed in a dark, well-cut suit, and a white collar, and he is clean-shaven. He thus presents a striking contrast to his appearance in the first two Acts. He holds his broken glasses in his hand and he is almost speechless. There is more menace when this unfortunate man is subjected to another deluge of words by the two persecutors. This time the two men ask no questions. This time they first describe his miserable condition and then give him all sorts of promises and assurances with regard to his future. This brainwashing scene reminds us of the earlier scene when the two men had subjected their victim to a cruel interrogation. Goldberg now says that he would take Stanley to Monty for treatment. Petey makes a feeble and futile effort to prevent the two men from taking Stanley away. There is a hint of menace in the two men's offering to take Petey also along with then. Ultimately Goldberg and McCann take Stanley away, thus giving a concrete shape to the menace and the terror which the arrival of the two men had posed to the security of Stanley who had hidden himself from the outside world in Meg's boarding-house. Here, indeed we have a tragic situation, with the menace reaching it’s highest point, because we do not know what would happen to Stanley. However, this tragic situation given way to a bit of comedy when Meg, returning from the market, tells Petey that she was the belle of the ball at last night’s party.
● Conclusion:-
So thus, at the end of the play, we can see that audiences are given unsolved enigma about what has been of Stanley which is of cardinal significance of Harold Pinter's “The Birthday Party”. This play is the perfect example of comedy of Menace. Menace and fear do not come from extraordinary sinister people but from you and me; it is all a matter of circumstances.' (Pinter, Harold).
● References:-
Harold Pinter –“The Birthday Party” by Ramji Call ..Rama Brothers.
https://whichihaveacquired.blogspot.com/2018/07/printers-birthday-party-as-comedy-of.html?m=1
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