Harold Pinter 1930-2008 - a tale of two lives

Any consideration of Harold Pinter needs to get this duality between Pinter-the-playwright and Pinter-the-propagandist straight from the outset because, as the quote above suggests, Harold Pinter, in common with any great artist, writes about reality and illusion. [...] any approach towards reality...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Contemporary review 2009-06, Vol.291 (1693), p.226
Main Author: Karwowski, Michael
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Deaths
Dramatists
Novels
Pinter, Harold
Pinter, Harold (1930-2008)
Playwrights
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Truth
Writers
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Summary:Any consideration of Harold Pinter needs to get this duality between Pinter-the-playwright and Pinter-the-propagandist straight from the outset because, as the quote above suggests, Harold Pinter, in common with any great artist, writes about reality and illusion. [...] any approach towards reality and away from illusion is incompatible with any kind of partiality, with the taking of sides, just as a research scientist cannot hope to arrive at any understanding of scientific reality if he is 'committed' or full of prejudices at the outset: 'Soviet Science', for instance, is an oxymoron, as is 'Socialist Realism' in Art. The alternative is either to remain in a state of racked suspension between them, a highly painful situation to which Beckett's novels and plays provide testimony, or to abandon any embryonic commitment to truth and return to one's illusions, both states which are experienced by Pinter's protagonist, Stanley Webber, in The Birthday Party.\n . . it's the truth ... my life is in your hands; that's what you're banishing me to, a state of catatonia, do you know the state of catatonia?
ISSN:0010-7565