Khushboo Rajpal

B.A Programme III

186561
English Discipline Assignment

Discuss Harold Pinter’s The Birthday

Party as a Comedy of Menace.

Introduction
The Birthday Party was written in 1957 and was Harold Pinter’s second full-length play.

The play unfolds with great brevity, and the dialogues are free from any allegorical
meaning. However, Pinter’s unique writing style makes its readers move gradually from a
familiar and known environment into the psychodynamics of a world that is far beyond our
understanding. The readers may not arrive at the exact meaning of the cryptic dialogues,
but one can arrive at various alternative outcomes and ideas.
The readers and the audience experience a roller coaster of emotions throughout the play.
One moment they’re filled with laughter and elation, and the next moment they experience
a feeling of some impending disaster. Therefore, the readers are made aware of the play’s
Modus Operandi - “a continuous sense of a menacing atmosphere amidst all the laughter.”

For such reasons, Irving Wardle, an English writer and theatre critic, and later critics
described The Birthday Party as a Comedy of Menace.

What is Comedy of Menace?

The dictionary definition of the word menace is “a person or thing that is likely to cause harm;
something that poses as a threat or danger.”

The phrase “Comedy of Menace” invokes both negative and positive feelings. At first, it
seems absurd to see such a word linked with comedy. It brings contradictions to the
readers’ minds - how can something that threatens to cause harm, evil, or injury be
associated with comedy, something that makes people laugh?

This phrase is used for a narrative that makes the readers or audience laugh at an
ominous situation. This concoction of menace and comedy produces special effects and is
mainly used to build up dramatic tension or convey social and political notions to the
audience.

David Campton was the first to coin the term 'Comedy of Menace' as a subtitle for his four
short plays known as The Lunatic View (1957).

The Birthday Party and Comedy of Menace

Here we deeply understand the link between the play and the title “Comedy of Menace.”

Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party is the perfect example of this phrase.

The atmosphere is filled with feelings of insecurity and uncertainty throughout the play
with the help of various dramatic elements. For instance, while talking to Meg about trivial
issues, he prophesied a wheel-barrow that will come to the house and take somebody. The

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sudden reference of a coffin suggests an impending death. Thus, a light-hearted situation
unexpectedly turned into a serious one.

This setting follows throughout the play. Another instance is when Meg gives a drum-set to
Stanley as a gift to appreciate his musical aspirations and talent. The subsequent scene of
the savage beating of the drum by Stanley leaves the audience stupefied. The real intention
behind this was never made known either.

Then, the characters repeatedly ask about the weather conditions. At first, it seems trivial,
but then it gradually instills fear in the mind of its readers and audience. As the lodge is
situated at the sea-coast, their fear becomes more tangible. Thus, introducing the fear of
the weather.

The play initially depicts Stanley, the protagonist, as a possible criminal who might have fled
away to avoid dire consequences and legal implications. Due to the play's suggestive
power, this depiction is strengthened in the audience's minds with the fact that he stays in
a lodge, which is not a substitute for a home. Stanley's nature of never leaving his room
and becoming apprehensive when he has visitors further strengthened this notion. When
he gets to know that two men will be coming to stay in the boarding house, he encounters
a complex fear.

Then follows the interrogation. The visitors bombard him with questions while he sits still
on a chair. Although comical to most readers and audience, this scene makes them get a
hint of what it must feel like to be subjected to brutal intimidation.

The continuous mentioning of the "job" that Goldberg had to do also instills uncertainty
and curiosity in the audience. This unknown job enhances menace.

Amidst these, Pinter gives occasion to amusement, such as the scene of Lulu's arrival and
knocking at the boarding door, and Meg’s funny response to Goldberg's question, and so
on. This gave comic relief to the readers and audience.

Till now, the readers and audience can feel the impending threat but cannot spot it. But
with the hosting of the birthday party, the audience can see the menace in transformed
forms - more tangible and real.

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The play reaches its climax of menace during the birthday party. Usually, a birthday party is
all about celebration, a hearty feast, and having a good time. However, it went otherwise
for Stanley when it became the biggest ordeal of his life, leading to his complete mental
derangement.

At the end of the play, Goldberg and McCann kick Stanley out of the house. The audiences
are given an unsolved riddle about what happened to Stanley and if he would ever make a
return. The ending note of the possibility of Stanley returning is the perfect example of a
Comedy of Menace.