Gaming Loved Ones within Games:
Ambiguity and Power Relations in Harold Pinter’s Betrayal
Introduction: Power Relations Arising from Ambiguities
“A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false” (p. 11); this was how Harold Pinter (1977) expounded the role of art in exploring reality in the Introduction to his collection of works. More than forty years later, Pinter repeated this quote as he began his acceptance speech of the Nobel Prize in Literature (Nobel Media AB, 2005) and elaborated on this. Pinter specified that one always finds truth to be elusive in the world of drama, and that the rummage through multiple and contradictory truths in a play is significant. Tener (1973) also analyzes that Pinter roots up the obscurity in everything, among which “semantic uncertainty” is crucial (p. 175). Indeed, the winner of the America Award in Literature and the Franz Kafka Prize dedicated his …show more content…
In addition to this, Saunders (1985) points out that a silent condition often symbolizes a sharpened hostility among individuals who are confronting their “strong but problematic emotions” (p. 165). In particular, although the language in Betrayal seems plain and ordinary, the force of enigmas is no less than any of other plays by Pinter. To begin with, Inan (2005) remarks that the iconic style of Pinter’s dramas, which comprises equivocal dialogues and nonverbal violence, is often associated with menace to outsiders. Pinter’s language can possibly hint one’s intentions, along with the power relations among interlocutors, whether superior–subordinate or balanced (Ayres 2009; Gligor, 2011). Before language features in Betrayal are examined, it is crucial to, first of all, demonstrate that applying a single pause or silence can make a great
Ambiguity and Power Relations in Harold Pinter’s Betrayal
Introduction: Power Relations Arising from Ambiguities
“A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false” (p. 11); this was how Harold Pinter (1977) expounded the role of art in exploring reality in the Introduction to his collection of works. More than forty years later, Pinter repeated this quote as he began his acceptance speech of the Nobel Prize in Literature (Nobel Media AB, 2005) and elaborated on this. Pinter specified that one always finds truth to be elusive in the world of drama, and that the rummage through multiple and contradictory truths in a play is significant. Tener (1973) also analyzes that Pinter roots up the obscurity in everything, among which “semantic uncertainty” is crucial (p. 175). Indeed, the winner of the America Award in Literature and the Franz Kafka Prize dedicated his …show more content…
In addition to this, Saunders (1985) points out that a silent condition often symbolizes a sharpened hostility among individuals who are confronting their “strong but problematic emotions” (p. 165). In particular, although the language in Betrayal seems plain and ordinary, the force of enigmas is no less than any of other plays by Pinter. To begin with, Inan (2005) remarks that the iconic style of Pinter’s dramas, which comprises equivocal dialogues and nonverbal violence, is often associated with menace to outsiders. Pinter’s language can possibly hint one’s intentions, along with the power relations among interlocutors, whether superior–subordinate or balanced (Ayres 2009; Gligor, 2011). Before language features in Betrayal are examined, it is crucial to, first of all, demonstrate that applying a single pause or silence can make a great