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HAROLD PINTER’S AESTHETICS IN THE MAKING: FROM HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPTS TO DRAFTS MOONLIGHT AND ASHES TO ASHES

Year 2023, Volume: 63 Issue: 2, 900 - 935, 25.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.33171/dtcfjournal.2023.63.2.1

Abstract

Martin Esslin emphasizes that ‘‘instead of being in suspense as to what will happen next, the spectators are, in the Theatre of the Absurd, put into suspense as to what the play may mean. This suspense continues even after the curtain has come down’’ (1960, p. 14). In accordance with Bertolt Brecht’s Verfremdung effects, alienating the audience from the characters and urging him/her to think, question and respond to the events or the dialogues taking place on stage, Pinter’s plays — with all the obscurity and uncertainty the characters are caught in — endow their audiences with more than enough tools to become subjects in the meaning-making process of his plays. No matter whether Pinter’s works are categorized as modernist through his transformation of the audience into subjects or just like more recently categorized as postmodernist in the works of Austin Quigley and Mireia Aragay (2009), what enables Pinter to be categorized as both is the obscurity of the language that he uses, and particularly in case of postmodernism, just like Fredric Jameson’s assertion of the “breakdown in the signifying chain” (1984, p.71), the broken correlation between the signified and signifiers in the dialogues that Pinter uses, creates the effect of ambiguity in his works. Pinter, in parallel to these definitions, states that ‘‘If I’m being explicit, I’m failing’’ (qtd in Knowles, 2009, p. 75). Considering how important the creation of ambiguity and uncertainty in Pinter’s plays is, this essay focuses on the creation process of the Theatre of the Absurd in Pinter’s Moonlight and Ashes to Ashes by examining the handwritten and type scripted manuscripts available in the Harold Pinter Archive at the British Library (UK).

References

  • Andrews, J. (2012). Harold Pinter. In S. Nicholson (Ed.). Modern British Playwriting: The 1960s, (pp. 161-189). London: Methuen Drama.
  • Aragay, M. (2005). Pinter, politics and postmodernism (2). In Peter Raby (Ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Harold Pinter (2nd ed.), (pp. 283-296). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Billington, M. (1997). The Life and Work of Harold Pinter. London: Faber and Faber.
  • Dukore, B. F. (1982). Harold Pinter. London: The Macmillan Press (pp. 58-85).
  • Esslin, M. (1960). The Theatre of the Absurd. The Tulane Drama Review, 4(4), 3-15.
  • Esslin, M. (1992). Pinter: The Playwright. London: Methuen Drama.
  • Esslin, M. (2000). Harold Pinter: from Moonlight to Celebration. In F. Gillen and S.
  • H. Gale (Eds). The Pinter Review: Collected Essays 1999 and 2000 (pp. 23-30). Tampa: The University of Tampa Press.
  • Fredric, J. (1984). Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. New Left Review, 146, 53-92.
  • Gale, S.H. (2014). Sharp Cut: Harold Pinter's Screenplays and the Artistic Process. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky.
  • Gillen, F. (1993). Whatever Light is Left in the Dark?: Harold Pinter’s Moonlight I. In
  • F. Gillen, & S. H. Gale (Eds). The Pinter Review: Collected Essays 1992 and 1993 (pp. 31-37). Tampa: The University of Tampa Press.
  • Grimes, C. (2004). Harold Pinter’s Ashes to Ashes: The Criminality of Indifference and the Failure of Emphaty. In L. Kane (Ed.). The Art of Crime: The Plays and Films of Harold Pinter and David Mamet (pp. 71-84). London: Routhledge.
  • Pinter, H. Moonlight. Box 34, The Pinter Archive, The British Library, London.
  • Pinter, H. Moonlight. Box 35, The Pinter Archive, The British Library, London.
  • Pinter, H. Ashes to Ashes. Box 67, The Pinter Archive, The British Library, London.
  • Pinter, H. (2005). Moonlight. Plays 4, 315-387. London: Faber and Faber.
  • Pinter, H. (2005) Ashes to Ashes. Plays 4, 389-433). London: Faber and Faber.
  • Harle, M. (2015). “Cinema’s First Domestic Epic”: Tracing “The Proust Screenplay” in Harold Pinter’s Archive. Literature/Film Quarterly, 43(4), 263–275.
  • Merritt, S. H. (1994). The Harold Pinter Archive in the British Library. In F. Gillen, & S.H. Gale (Eds.), The Pinter Review Annual Essays 1994 (pp. 14–53). Tampa: University of Tampa Press.
  • Quigley, A. (2005). Pinter, politics and postmodernism (I). In P. Raby (Ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Harold Pinter (2nd ed.) (pp. 283-296). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Renton, L. (2001). Pinter and the Object of Desire: An Approach Through the Screenplays. Oxford: Legenda Main.
  • Wilcox, Z., & Andrews, J. (2021). “Our Beginnings Never Know Our Ends”: Archiving Harold Pinter at the British Library. The Harold Pinter Review, 5(1), 88-106.

HAROLD PİNTER’İN ESTETİĞİNİN YARATILIŞI: EL YAZMALARINDAN MÜSVETTELERE AYIŞIĞI VE KÜLLER KÜLLERE OYUNLARI

Year 2023, Volume: 63 Issue: 2, 900 - 935, 25.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.33171/dtcfjournal.2023.63.2.1

Abstract

Martin Esslin Absürt Tiyatro’nun izleyicisinin, bir sonraki adımda ne olacağını merak etmek yerine, oyunun ne anlama gelebileceği konusunda bir merak içinde bırakıldıklarını vurgular (1960, p. 14). Bertolt Brecht Verfremdung etkisi tekniğini kullanarak tiyatro izleyicisini sahnedeki karakterlere yabancılaştırıp, izleyicinin düşünmesi, sorgulaması ve sahnedeki diyalog ve olaylara tepki vermesi konusunda onları cesaretlendirir. Harold Pinter de oyunlarında, Brecht’in tekniği ile uyum içinde, karakterin içinde bulunduğu bilinmezlik ve belirsizlikler aracılığı ile izleyicisini oyuna anlam verme süreçlerinde özne kılar. Pinter ister izleyicisini anlam vermede özneye dönüştüren bir modernist olarak görülsün, isterse de son yıllarda Austin Quigley ve Mireia Aragay’in (2009) eserlerinde olduğu gibi bir postmodernist olarak sınıflandırılsın, Pinter’in her iki sınıfa girmesini sağlayan esas faktör, kullandığı dilde bilinmezlik unsurunu öne çıkarmasıdır. Özellikle postmodernizm alanında, Fredric Jameson’ın ileri sürdüğü ‘‘işaret zincirinde yaşanan kırılma’’ (1984, p.71) ile paralel olarak, Pinter’in yarattığı diyaloglarda ‘işaret eden’ ile ‘işaret edilen’ arasındaki ilişkinin yıkılması, oyunlarındaki belirsizlik etkisini artırır. Pinter’in ‘‘Eğer açık bir şekilde anlatıyorsam, başarısızımdır’’ (Knowles’da alıntılandı, 2009, p. 75) ifadesi de bu belirsizlik unsurunun bilinçli şekilde yaratıldığını destekler. Belirsizlik ve bilinmezlik unsurlarının Pinter’in oyunlarındaki önemi göz önüne alınarak, bu makale Londra’daki İngiliz Kütüphanesi’nin Pinter Arşivi’ndeki Ayışığı ve Küller Küllere oyunlarının el yazması ve müsveddelerini inceleyip Pinter’in eserlerinin yaratılış süreçlerinde Absürt Tiyatro’yu nasil oluşturduğuna ışık tutmayı amaçlar.

References

  • Andrews, J. (2012). Harold Pinter. In S. Nicholson (Ed.). Modern British Playwriting: The 1960s, (pp. 161-189). London: Methuen Drama.
  • Aragay, M. (2005). Pinter, politics and postmodernism (2). In Peter Raby (Ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Harold Pinter (2nd ed.), (pp. 283-296). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Billington, M. (1997). The Life and Work of Harold Pinter. London: Faber and Faber.
  • Dukore, B. F. (1982). Harold Pinter. London: The Macmillan Press (pp. 58-85).
  • Esslin, M. (1960). The Theatre of the Absurd. The Tulane Drama Review, 4(4), 3-15.
  • Esslin, M. (1992). Pinter: The Playwright. London: Methuen Drama.
  • Esslin, M. (2000). Harold Pinter: from Moonlight to Celebration. In F. Gillen and S.
  • H. Gale (Eds). The Pinter Review: Collected Essays 1999 and 2000 (pp. 23-30). Tampa: The University of Tampa Press.
  • Fredric, J. (1984). Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. New Left Review, 146, 53-92.
  • Gale, S.H. (2014). Sharp Cut: Harold Pinter's Screenplays and the Artistic Process. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky.
  • Gillen, F. (1993). Whatever Light is Left in the Dark?: Harold Pinter’s Moonlight I. In
  • F. Gillen, & S. H. Gale (Eds). The Pinter Review: Collected Essays 1992 and 1993 (pp. 31-37). Tampa: The University of Tampa Press.
  • Grimes, C. (2004). Harold Pinter’s Ashes to Ashes: The Criminality of Indifference and the Failure of Emphaty. In L. Kane (Ed.). The Art of Crime: The Plays and Films of Harold Pinter and David Mamet (pp. 71-84). London: Routhledge.
  • Pinter, H. Moonlight. Box 34, The Pinter Archive, The British Library, London.
  • Pinter, H. Moonlight. Box 35, The Pinter Archive, The British Library, London.
  • Pinter, H. Ashes to Ashes. Box 67, The Pinter Archive, The British Library, London.
  • Pinter, H. (2005). Moonlight. Plays 4, 315-387. London: Faber and Faber.
  • Pinter, H. (2005) Ashes to Ashes. Plays 4, 389-433). London: Faber and Faber.
  • Harle, M. (2015). “Cinema’s First Domestic Epic”: Tracing “The Proust Screenplay” in Harold Pinter’s Archive. Literature/Film Quarterly, 43(4), 263–275.
  • Merritt, S. H. (1994). The Harold Pinter Archive in the British Library. In F. Gillen, & S.H. Gale (Eds.), The Pinter Review Annual Essays 1994 (pp. 14–53). Tampa: University of Tampa Press.
  • Quigley, A. (2005). Pinter, politics and postmodernism (I). In P. Raby (Ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Harold Pinter (2nd ed.) (pp. 283-296). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Renton, L. (2001). Pinter and the Object of Desire: An Approach Through the Screenplays. Oxford: Legenda Main.
  • Wilcox, Z., & Andrews, J. (2021). “Our Beginnings Never Know Our Ends”: Archiving Harold Pinter at the British Library. The Harold Pinter Review, 5(1), 88-106.
There are 23 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Creative Arts and Writing
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Nesrin Degirmencioglu 0000-0002-8988-8346

Early Pub Date December 20, 2023
Publication Date December 25, 2023
Submission Date April 26, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 63 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Degirmencioglu, N. (2023). HAROLD PINTER’S AESTHETICS IN THE MAKING: FROM HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPTS TO DRAFTS MOONLIGHT AND ASHES TO ASHES. Ankara Üniversitesi Dil Ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi, 63(2), 900-935. https://doi.org/10.33171/dtcfjournal.2023.63.2.1

Ankara University Journal of the Faculty of Languages and History-Geography

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