REČ, TIŠINA, SLOM: JEZIK KAO SREDSTVO USPOSTAVLJANJA MOĆI U KOMEDIJAMA PRETNJE I POLITIČKIM DRAMAMA HAROLDA PINTERA

Abstract

Struggle for power lies at the centre of most of Harold Pinter’s plays: while in his early comedies of menace it usually happens between seemingly equal characters, in his late and openly political plays it takes the form of the oppression of powerless individuals by the structures of power. Nevertheless, by analyzing two comedies of menace – The Birthday Party and The Dumb Waiter – as well as two political plays – One for the Road and Mountain Language – this paper shows that language plays the key role in struggle for power, representing the most common and most efficient means of obtaining the dominant position, regardless of the level on which the struggle takes place. Not only do Pinter’s characters use verbal violence to torture their victims, but their use of refined language also serves as an indication of their superiority. What is more, by using linguistic strategies, such as repetition and word games, the torturers baffle their victims into submission, while the use of absurd language serves to further intimidate and perplex the oppressed individuals. Finally, Pinter’s famous pauses and silences, though being the ’negation’ of language, represent the ultimate form of linguistic torture. The language of Pinter’s characters, thus, despite its occasional semantic emptiness and lack of communicative function, always fully fulfils its role – the role of helping the characters assume and retain the position of power.