Harold Pinter Influences

Pinter’s mind was occupied by a room, a territorial space and power relations which is clearly manifested in his short prose-poem Kullus written at home in 1948. This sense of enclosed room and territorial battle, according to Billington is in association with “Fascist thugs in post-war Hackney” (27) where Pinter and his comrades used to clash with hooligans for survival. (No editing required)
Pinter’s acute sense of imagination was flourished in poetry, many of which he composed during this period were strongly under the influence of Dylan Thomas. Although Pinter’s poetry was self-consciously attached to Dylan Thomas, a strong influence of Yeats, Elliot and Synge on his poetry cannot be ignored. In 1951, after spending two infertile years at home writing poems and some part-time activities for radio, Pinter joined the 'Central School of Speech and Drama' which marked a new turning point in his career. …show more content…
Billington points out that his early work was much in association with the tension between individual need and the pressures of social conformity (Harold Pinter, 88). In 1957 and within a year, Pinter, who had written three plays staged them in different places. With its bitter and harsh reception by the masses, The Birthday Party which was the third of three plays, was halted only after eight performances. The Room and Dumb Waiter were staged with themes such as mystery and menace which did not resonate well with public interest and received critical responses in terms of obscurity and uncertainty. Receiving such opinions, Pinter argued in a programme note that, “A character on the stage who can present no convincing argument or information as to his past experience, his present behavior or his aspirations, nor give a comprehensive analysis of his motives, is as legitimate and as worthy of attention as one who, alarmingly, can do all these things’ (Harold Pinter: Various Voices,