20 Quotes & Sayings By Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter is one of the most acclaimed British playwrights of the 20th century. His work includes more than 25 plays, including The Birthday Party, The Homecoming, and The Hothouse. He is also renowned as one of the greatest contemporary actors of his generation. In addition to his many stage productions, Pinter's work has been adapted for film and television numerous times, including a major screen adaptation of The Homecoming in 1984.

There are some things one remembers even though they may...
1
There are some things one remembers even though they may never have happened. Harold Pinter
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RUTH: If you take the glass… I’ll take you. Harold Pinter
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You are in no man's land. Which never moves, which never changes, which never grows older, but remains forever, icy and silent. Harold Pinter
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Listen. You know what it's like when you're in a room with the light on and then suddenly the light goes out? I'll show you. It's like this." He turns out the light. B L A C K O U T Harold Pinter
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In other words apart from the known and the unknown what else is there? Harold Pinter
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One way of looking at speech is to say it is a constant stratagem to cover nakedness. Harold Pinter
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Iraq is just a symbol of the attitude of western democracies to the rest of the world. Harold Pinter
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Good writing excites me, and makes life worth living. Harold Pinter
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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
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I mean, don't forget the earth's about five thousand million years old, at least. Who can afford to live in the past? Harold Pinter
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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
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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
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All I'm saying is that there are many different kinds of political theatre and many plays I greatly admire: 'Antigone, ' 'Mother Courage, ' 'All My Sons.' But, if I tackle a political theme, I have to do it in my own way. Harold Pinter
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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
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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
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My second play, The Birthday Party, I wrote in 1958 - or 1957. It was totally destroyed by the critics of the day, who called it an absolute load of rubbish. Harold Pinter
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I certainly feel sad about the alienation from my son. Harold Pinter
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I found the offer of a knighthood something that I couldn't possibly accept. I found it to be somehow squalid, a knighthood. There's a relationship to government about knights. Harold Pinter
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Clinton's hands remain incredibly clean, don't they, and Tony Blair's smile remains as wide as ever. I view these guises with profound contempt. Harold Pinter