The Loudest Cries of American and European Theatre: A Comparative Analysis of Silence between Eugene O’Neil and Harold Pinter

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to explicate the functions of silence which is purposefully existing in literary writings of two difference theaters as an explorative comparative ground. This functioning of silence includes the impact of it, unfolding the notions of absurd-ism, as a result of a constitutive constrains of the emotions, feelings and thoughts which amalgamate to convey the intensified impacts possessed by the modern characters of drama. In order to extract the desired results from the data, it has been analyzed by keeping Kenny’s (2011) views in consideration. This perspective offers a unique interpretation to extract out of the silences of the characters by establishing the same as eloquent one. These integrated analytical grounds are applied on the data extracted out in the form of excerpts from two different theatrical dramas i.e. O’Neil’s Long Day’s Journey into Night and Pinter’s Caretaker. The study is significant as it provides unique view to study drama by assigning intensively communicative and rhetorical stance to silences in drama.