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Harold Pinter Quotes

Powerful Harold Pinter for Daily Growth

About Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter (1930-2008) was an influential British playwright, screenwriter, actor, and director, best known for his distinctive dramatic style, characterized by cryptic dialogue and thematic complexity. Born in Hackney, London, Pinter attended Hackney Downs School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where he honed his skills as an actor before transitioning to writing. In 1957, Pinter's first play, "The Room," was produced, marking the beginning of a prolific career in theater. His plays often explored themes of power imbalance, deception, and the absurdity of human communication, reflected in titles like "The Birthday Party" (1958), "The Caretaker" (1960), and "The Dwarfs" (1960). These works earned Pinter critical acclaim and cemented his status as a major figure in British theater. Pinter's success extended to film, where he worked as both a screenwriter and actor. His films include "The Servant" (1963), "Accident" (1967), and the Academy Award-winning adaptation of his own play, "The Hothouse" (1980). Pinter also directed several productions, including the Royal Court Theatre's production of Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape." In 2005, Harold Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his innovative dramatic works that incorporated elements of mime, music, and silence. Throughout his career, Pinter was a vocal political activist, particularly on issues related to human rights and nuclear disarmament. His influence on modern drama is immeasurable, with many contemporary playwrights citing him as an inspiration. Harold Pinter's quotes often reflect the ambiguity and complexity found in his works. Notable examples include: "I think there is nothing for it but to recognize the absurdity of the position and do what one can under the circumstances," and "Politics is the pursuit of power, and power isn't a very nice thing to have because it corrupts absolutely." These quotes encapsulate Pinter's views on power, truth, and the human condition, themes that continue to resonate in his enduring legacy.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I have a mind to do something, but nothing comes to mind."

This quote encapsulates the feeling of indecisiveness or being stuck in a situation where one desires to act, yet lacks the motivation or ideas to execute a course of action. It hints at a state of mental block or confusion that prevents us from moving forward, despite our intention to do so.

"The opposite of a lie is not the truth, silence is the opposite of a lie."

This quote suggests that not speaking about a matter or situation doesn't necessarily mean that the truth is being told; instead, it implies the absence or omission of information, which can be as misleading as an outright lie. It encourages us to question silences as much as spoken words in our pursuit of understanding and truth.

"There are no answers, which is the answer."

This quote by Harold Pinter suggests that life's mysteries often defy clear solutions or explanations. It implies a perspective where questions may outnumber answers, encouraging us to accept uncertainty as part of our human journey. The statement invites us to embrace the unknown and appreciate the process of seeking understanding rather than expecting definitive resolutions.

"Language is a very creative thing; you can use it to conceal your thoughts as well as reveal them."

This quote underscores the dual nature of language, suggesting that words are not merely tools for expressing ideas but also for obfuscating them. Language can be wielded strategically to reveal one's intentions while hiding deeper thoughts or meanings. Understanding this aspect is crucial in navigating interpersonal communication and complex social dynamics.

"To be and to be seen to be. Those are the points."

This quote by Harold Pinter emphasizes the duality of appearance and reality, suggesting that people not only strive to exist but also to appear as though they are living up to certain expectations or standards in society. In other words, it's not just about being who we truly are, but also showing the world that we meet societal norms and expectations. This dichotomy between our true selves and how we present ourselves to others is a recurring theme in human interactions and relationships, and it can shape our behavior and self-perception significantly.

Political theatre presents an entirely different set of problems. Sermonising has to be avoided at all cost. Objectivity is essential. The characters must be allowed to breathe their own air. The author cannot confine and constrict them to satisfy his own taste or disposition or prejudice.

- Harold Pinter

Own, Taste, Allowed, Disposition

A character on stage who can present no convincing argument or information as to his past experience, his present behaviour 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

Experience, Argument, Nor, Worthy

I certainly feel sad about the alienation from my son.

- Harold Pinter

Son, Sad, Certainly, Alienation

I left school at sixteen - I was fed up and restless. The only thing that interested me at school was English language and literature, but I didn't have Latin, and so couldn't go on to university. So I went to a few drama schools, not studying seriously; I was mostly in love at the time and tied up with that.

- Harold Pinter

Love, Restless, Mostly, Sixteen

The whole brunt of the media and the government is to encourage people to be highly competitive and totally selfish and uncaring of others.

- Harold Pinter

Government, Encourage, Brunt

I'm always the interrogator. When I was an actor in rep, I always played sinister parts. The directors always said, 'If there's a nasty man about, cast Harold Pinter.'

- Harold Pinter

Always, Directors, About, Nasty

I never think of myself as wise. I think of myself as possessing a critical intelligence which I intend to allow to operate.

- Harold Pinter

Think, Allow, Which, Possessing

The crimes of the U.S. throughout the world have been systematic, constant, clinical, remorseless, and fully documented but nobody talks about them.

- Harold Pinter

Been, Constant, Crimes, Documented

Sometimes you feel you have the truth of a moment in your hand, then it slips through your fingers and is lost.

- Harold Pinter

Truth, Lost, Through, Slips

I'm well aware that I have been described in some quarters as being 'enigmatic, taciturn, prickly, explosive and forbidding'. Well, I have my moods like anyone else; I won't deny it.

- Harold Pinter

Some, Been, Explosive, Quarters

I don't make judgments about my own work, and I don't analyze it; I just let it happen. That applies to everything I've done.

- Harold Pinter

Happen, My Own, Judgments, Analyze

I could be a bit of a pain in the arse. Since I've come out of my cancer, I must say I intend to be even more of a pain in the arse.

- Harold Pinter

Pain, More, Could, Intend

I don't intend to simply go away and write my plays and be a good boy. I intend to remain an independent and political intelligence in my own right.

- Harold Pinter

Independent, Away, Plays, Intend

I was told that, when 'Betrayal' was being produced by one of the provincial companies in England, the two actors playing those roles actually went into a pub one day and played that scene as if it were really happening to them. The people around them became very uncomfortable.

- Harold Pinter

Very, Became, Roles, Pub

There was one man in the Labour government, Robin Cook, whom I had a very high regard for. He had the courage to speak out and to resign over Iraq. He was an admirable man. But resignation over a matter of principle is not a very fashionable thing in our society.

- Harold Pinter

Principle, Very, Had, Admirable

Many Americans, we know, are horrified by the posture of their government but seem to be helpless.

- Harold Pinter

Government, Know, Horrified, Helpless

I tend to think that cricket is the greatest thing that God ever created on earth - certainly greater than sex, although sex isn't too bad either.

- Harold Pinter

Think, Bad, Certainly, Greatest Thing

Truth in drama is forever elusive. You never quite find it, but the search for it is compulsive. The search is clearly what drives the endeavour. The search is your task.

- Harold Pinter

Drama, Clearly, Your, Compulsive

My father was a tailor. He worked from seven o'clock in the morning until seven at night. At least when he got home, my mother always cooked him a very good dinner. Lots of potatoes, I remember; he used to knock them down like a dose of salts. He needed it, after a 12-hour day.

- Harold Pinter

I Remember, Potatoes, Very, Dose

There is a movement to get an international criminal court in the world, voted for by hundreds of states-but with the noticeable absence of the United States of America.

- Harold Pinter

United, United States, Voted, Noticeable

The effect of depleted uranium, used by America in the Gulf War, is never referred to.

- Harold Pinter

Never, Gulf War, Depleted, Gulf

I was brought up in the War. I was an adolescent in the Second World War. And I did witness in London a great deal of the Blitz.

- Harold Pinter

London, Deal, Brought, Adolescent

Things like Abu Ghraib and even Guantanamo are not new things: there are many precedents.

- Harold Pinter

New Things, New, Guantanamo, Abu

One should also remember that the U.S. is the biggest exporter of torture weapons in the world, though the U.K. is not far behind in the league table. We never stopped, even under Robin Cook's supposedly ethical foreign policy.

- Harold Pinter

Behind, Supposedly, Foreign, Exporter

I wrote 'The Room', 'The Birthday Party', and 'The Dumb Waiter' in 1957, I was acting all the time in a repertory company, doing all kinds of jobs, traveling to Bournemouth and Torquay and Birmingham.

- Harold Pinter

Birthday, Doing, Wrote, Repertory

George W. Bush is always protesting that he has the fate of the world in mind and bangs on about the 'freedom-loving peoples' he's seeking to protect. I'd love to meet a freedom-hating people.

- Harold Pinter

Love, Mind, Always, Protesting

There's a tradition in British intellectual life of mocking any non-political force that gets involved in politics, especially within the sphere of the arts and the theatre.

- Harold Pinter

Politics, Within, British, Sphere

This particular nurse said, Cancer cells are those which have forgotten how to die. I was so struck by this statement.

- Harold Pinter

Die, Which, Particular, Struck

It was difficult being a conscientious objector in the 1940's, but I felt I had to stick to my guns.

- Harold Pinter

Guns, Difficult, Felt, Conscientious

No one wanted me to be a conscientious objector. My parents certainly didn't want it. My teacher and mentor, Joe Brearley, didn't want it. My friends didn't want it. I was alone.

- Harold Pinter

Mentor, Joe, Certainly, Conscientious

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