Kurzus nemzetközi vendég- és részidős hallgatóknak
- Kar
- Bölcsészettudományi Kar
- Szervezet
- BTK Anglisztika Tanszék
- Kód
- BBI-ANG17-312E.400
- Cím
- Választható angol irodalom szeminárium: Harold Pinter filmművészeti munkássága
- Tervezett félév
- Őszi
- Meghirdetve
- 2024/25/1
- ECTS
- 5
- Nyelv
- en
- Oktatás célja
- The methodological purpose of this course is to study the link created between the artistic tools and language of the stage and the film medium in one of the most peculiar case studies, the works of the playwright Harold Pinter. Perhaps uniquely among playwrights, Pinter, almost from the start, laid equal emphasis on the printed, stage acted and film versions of his plays. Rather than “film versions”, the productions become alternative manifestations or incarnations of the underlying work of art. Pinter, a superb stage and film actor on his own right, remained closely involved in the film productions, sometimes playing leading roles in them. The substantive purpose is to acquaint the students with the world of the theatre of the absurd (its literary and philosophical discourse and value system) through the conduit of these films.
- Tantárgy tartalma
- The (originally French) existentialist dramatic genre that had become known by the end of the 1950s and early ‘60s as the theatre of the absurd was Pinter’s natural artistic and intellectual habitat. Plays by Pinter, like The Room, The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Homecoming investigate “man’s” primordial fears, natural desires, downsides, seemingly meaningless quests, failures and often empty triumphs; exploring a mind frame that dominated the post-war European literary scene and psychological preoccupations. Yet the ageless characters are archetypes whose views, behaviour and voices are with us still. Perhaps we can find them today if we come closer to understanding Pinter’s world. Pinter often paid tribute to Samuel Beckett as his stage model and predecessor in the absurdist genre. The course starts, therefore, with a short introduction to the film version of one of Beckett’s influential short plays (written for the voice of the Irish actor Patrick Magee): Krapp’s Last Tape. The seminar will then move on to screen, with stops for comments, 4-5 (depending on the time frame) of Pinter’s dramas on film: The Caretaker (excerpts), The Homecoming, The Birthday Party and Betrayal. Extracts from critical works by two of Pinter’s best literary interpreters, Martin Esslin and Michael Billington, will be compulsory reading.
- Számonkérés és értékelés
- Following the completion of the screening of each film, the students will be required to submit a short impact paper on the viewing experience. The quality of these impact papers will account for 25% of the final mark. A full seminar essay (about 10 pages long) on the content of the course (concrete topic to be discussed with the teacher) is due at the end of the semester (65 % of the final mark). Participation in class debate, comments account for 10% of the mark.
- Irodalomjegyzék
- Billington, Michael. Harold Pinter, London: Faber, 2007. Esslin, Martin. The Theatre of the Absurd, London: Methuen, 1974. Naismith, Bill. A Faber Critical Guide: Harold Pinter, The Caretaker, The Birthday Party, The Homecoming, London: Faber and Faber, 2000. Films Krapp’s Last Tape (1972) Donald McWhinnie The Caretaker (1963) Clive Donner The Homecoming (1973) Peter Hall The Birthday Party (1968) William Friedkin The Birthday Party (1987) Kenneth Ives (Harold Pinter as Goldberg) Betrayal (1983) David Jones