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Harold Pinter

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Harold Pinter

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1930-10-10 （Hackney, London, England）
Died
2008-12-24 （London, England） age 78
Nationality
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Religion
Atheist / No religion
Residence History
Hackney (London) → London

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Poet, Screenwriter, Actor
Active Years
1947-2008
Affiliations
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Member)
Memberships
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Influenced By
Fyodor Dostoevsky, James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, Henry Miller, Samuel Beckett, Arthur Rimbaud, W. B. Yeats, Luis Buñuel (film)
Influenced
Tom Stoppard, David Mamet, Sarah Kane, A generation of contemporary English dramatists

Education

Local grammar school (Hackney)
Drama (studied theatre)
Period: 1930年代-1940年代
Country: United Kingdom
Developed interest in theatre under teacher Joseph Brearley; later attended theatre school and worked as an actor.

Awards

Austrian State Prize for European Literature
1973
Organization: Austrian Government
Result: 受賞
Laurence Olivier Award
1996
Organization: Laurence Olivier Awards organization
Result: 受賞
Franz Kafka Prize
2005
Organization: Franz Kafka Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Nobel Prize in Literature
2005
Work: Dramatic works
Organization: The Swedish Academy
Result: 受賞（授賞理由：劇作によって、日常の対話の中に潜在する危機を晒し出し、抑圧された密室に突破口を開いたこと）
Légion d'honneur
2007
Organization: French government
Result: 受章

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Room

1957 Play (Absurdist drama)

An early short one-act play. Features a claustrophobic setting and unsettling interactions among enigmatic characters.

claustrophobiamemorythe unsettling nature of dialogue

The Birthday Party

1957 Play (Absurdist drama)

Set in a small boarding house where bizarre events unfold. Initially unsuccessful but later critically reassessed.

lack of explanationintimidation and fearmemory and identity
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Birthday Party (film)

The Caretaker

1959 Play (Drama)

A three-character play about a homeless man and two brothers; dialogue exposes instability in power and relationships.

poweralienationlanguage and dominance

Betrayal

1978 Play (experimental chronology)

Tells an affair in reverse chronological order, probing memory and betrayal.

betrayalmemorytemporal structure
Adaptations
  • [Film] Betrayal (film)

Ashes to Ashes

1996 Play (political allegory)

A late major work addressing memory of postwar events and political violence; strong critique of totalitarianism and state violence.

critique of totalitarianismmemory and historypolitical violence

Bibliography

  • Collected Works of Harold Pinter (Japanese translations by Kishi, Odajima, Numazawa; 3 vols., Shinchosha)
  • Collections of plays, essays and screenplays (selected major works)

Adaptations

  • Film screenplays/adaptations: The Servant, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Remains of the Day (uncredited), The Trial, etc.

Translations of Works

  • Translations into Japanese by Tetsuo Kishi, Yushi Odajima, Koji Numazawa (Collected Pinter translations)
  • Translated into Japanese by Yasushi Shimo (Bilingual edition of 'Lost Time' adaptation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Absurdist theatrical techniquesEmphasis on silence and pauses within dialogueAnti-realist stage constructionSharp political and social critique (later works)
Recurring Motifs
silencememorypower and dominationclosed spacesthe sense or threat of violence

Health

  • Esophageal cancer
    2002年〜（公表された闘病期間）
    He underwent treatment and continued to live with illness, affecting his activities.
  • Severe skin condition (reported infection at time of Nobel award)
    2005年（授賞式欠席の原因となった時期）
    Prevented attendance at the Nobel Prize ceremony; he provided a recorded lecture.

Legacy

One of the leading dramatists of the late 20th century. Translated the unsettling aspects of everyday speech and power structures into theatrical language and had a major influence on contemporary theatre; also noted for his political activism.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Archives

  • Harold Pinter Archive (archival collections)

In Popular Culture

  • Influenced anglophone film and television culture through his screenwriting.
  • Nobel Prize win brought renewed international attention.

Quotes

  • Art, truth and politics.
    Source: Nobel lecture / award speech (headline excerpt) (2005)

Trivia

  • Was fined for conscientious objection to conscription in 1948.
  • First wife was actress Vivien Merchant (m.1956–div.1980); later married historian Antonia Fraser.
  • Unable to attend the 2005 Nobel Prize ceremony due to illness; his recorded lecture was shown.