Harold Pinter

Course Description

Harold Pinter is one of the most famous playwrights of the 20^th century. He is also well-known for being a representative of the so-called "Theatre of the Absurd", the term "absurd" being applied to many plays of the 1950s. It expresses the idea of man's absurd position in a universe that has no purpose in itself. Nevertheless, in this course analysis and interpretation will focus on structure, setting and atmosphere, character, language and communicative behaviour as well as on the problem of identity and human relationships. The plays we will analyse are The Room, A Slight Ache, The Birthday Party and The Homecoming. Copies of the plays will be available at the "Universitas" bookshop.

Requirements for a Leistungsschein: Regular attendance and participation in discussions, an oral presentation and a term paper. Attendance at first session is obligatory.

Please note that only those students can be admitted to this course who have successfully attended "Introduction to Literary Criticism" and can present the Schein for this introduction in the first session of our course.