Pinter dialogue

GOLDBERG. [sitting at the table] ... every second Friday of the month my Uncle Barney used to take me to the seaside, regular as clockwork. Brighton, Canvey Island, Rottingdam — Uncle Barney wasn’t particular. After lunch on Shabbuss we’d go and sit in a couple of deck chairs — you know, the ones with canopies — we’d have a little paddle, we’d watch the tide coming in, going out, the sun coming down — golden days. Uncle Barney. Of course, he was an impeccable dresser. One of the old school. He had a house just outside Basingstoke at the time. Respected by the whole community. Culture? Don’t talk to me about culture. He was an all-round man, what do you mean? He was a cosmopolitan.




The above is Pinter in "Birthday Party". To me, Pinter is the best and greatest dramatic dialogue writer--better than Beckett, Shaw, Wilde and et tu Shakespeare. When I read a Pinter dialogue, I feel mesmerised, and a sort of nice soothing cool current goes through my bones. Pinter 's dialogue is very down-to-earth, made of the stuff daily kitchen sink conversation is made of. Place names of real cities, towns, neighbourhoods and even coffee shops Pinter mentions in his dialogues add to the magic