About
Harold Pinter, born in Hackney (London) in 1930, was a major British playwright and screenwriter. He began his career as an actor under the stage name David Baron before turning to writing. His plays, such as The Birthday Party (1957) and The Caretaker (1960), reveal a unique style, known as 'Pinteresque', characterized by silences, pauses, and power dynamics. He also wrote acclaimed screenplays, including The Servant (1962) and The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981). Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005, he died in London in 2008.
* 1930-10-10 — † 2008-12-24
Major works
- The Birthday Party (1957)play
- The Caretaker (1960)play
- The Homecoming (1964)play
- Betrayal (1978)play
- The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)screenplay
Key milestones
- 2005Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
- 2007The British Library acquires his archive for £1.1 million
- 2002Appointed Companion of Honour
Themes
Memory and pastPower and dominationSilence and pauseMenace and anxietyBetrayal and infidelity
Sources: nobelprize.org · archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk · oxfordreference.com
