COMEDY OF MENACE- BIRTHDAY PARTY

ASSIGNMENT: EC-301 MODERNIST  LITERATURE

TOPIC: COMEDY OF MENACE- BIRTHDAYPARTY

ROLL NO: 11

CLASS :M. A.

SEM : III

YEAR :2011-2012

NAME: PATEL KAVITA B.

SUBMITTED TO : DR. DILIP BARAD,
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY,

         WHAT IS COMEDY OF MENACE?

              

         Comedy of Menace is a term used to describethe plays of David Campton and Harold Pinter by drama critic IrvingWardle, borrowed from the subtitle of campton’s play “Comedy of Menace”and “Comedies of Menace” caught on and have been used generally in an advertisement and in critical accounts, notices and reviews to describe Pinter’s early and later play.

        The Birthday Party is the Comedy of Menace – is a tragedy with a numberof comic elements. It is a comedy, which produces an tragic effevt.Throughout the play we are kept amused ourselves on the brink of teror. Some ofvague fear keeps our nerves on an edge. We feel uneasy all the time even when we are laughing or smiling with  amusement. This dual qualities gives to the play a unique character.

        The word menace means a dangerous or troublesome thing. This word suggest some negetivitythe menace evolves from actual violence in the olay or from an underlying sense of violence throughout the play. It may develop from a feeling of uncertainity and insecurity. The audience may be made to feel theat the security of the principal character.the atmosphere of menace is created by pinter’s ability to drop suddenly from a high comic level to one of deep seriousness.

             By this technique the audience is made aware that the comedy is only at surface leyer. The sudden outbreaks of violence in the play confirm this and leave the audience unsure of what will come next.

                 

               to conclusion, at the end of the play in act-iii, Petey is tongue tide and silent, his emotions and thoughts remain unexpressed and bottled up.