Pinter's Early Works Under The Absurdity, Domesticating The Tragic Elements In Parsing

Harold Pinter, the winner of Nobel Prize for Literature in2005, is a very famous representative of the Theatre of the Absurd. As the most sparkly superstar in the post-war British theatre, he is the most original writer who gives fresh life to the British theatre in the late1950s. Pinter’s plays reveal the serious problems of human existence. Combining comic performance with tragic plot is the typical feature of Pinter’s plays. Beneath the absurd surface, it is the strong tragic colors. However, the tragic elements are often neglected. In fact, the tragic elements behind the absurd mask are the source of power that arouses the audience’s resonance and meditation, which is the significance of Pinter’s plays.This thesis, in the theoretical framework consisting of Nietzsche’s theory of tragedy and Sartre’s existentialism, aims at uncovering the absurd mask and presenting the tragic elements and its positive significance in Pinter’s three early plays. The Room, The Birthday Parly and The Caretaker. Moreover, it tries to inspire people to face the adverse factors in life with an optimistic attitude and create the meaning of existence.This thesis contains seven chapters. Chapter Ⅰ introduces Harold Pinter’s life and works, literature review, the development of tragedy and the Theatre of the Absurd, and the thesis statement. Chapter Ⅱ is about the relevant theoretical perspectives. From Chapter Ⅲ to Chapter Ⅴ, it analyzes the tragic elements from three aspects. Chapter Ⅲ, taking his Comedy of Menace as the starting point, reveals various menace in human existential condition and its inescapability. Chapter Ⅳ analyzes the tragic element of interpersonal relationship from Pinter’s unique language characteristics. Chapter Ⅴ represents the characters’indomitable struggles for survival in the world of alienation. Chapter Ⅵ indicates the significance of the tragic elements. The last chapter is the conclusion that briefly sums up the tragic elements in this three plays and inspires people to live with an optimistic attitude.