9. Language. Is the dialogue complex? Is it realistic? Focus your attention on act 1.

What is
the role of question tags in scene 1? As for the pauses between Jerry and Emma, how do you
interpret them? What is the role of silence and pauses?

10. Are there statements and questions that could be interpreted in different ways
depending on the knowledge of the situation each character has? Do characters use
language to reveal or to conceal information and emotions? Do they manipulate or punish
others by what they say or keep hidden or unsaid? Find examples of both in scenes 2 (Robert
and Jerry) and 3 (Jerry and Emma).

11. Micro-linguistic analysis. Pay attention to the use of tense (present/past and personal
pronouns) in pages 39-41. Does the way language and tone used change between Jerry and
Emma throughout the play? Compare scenes 1 and 8.

In a 1976 essay, Pinter stated, “So often, below the word spoken, is the thing known and
unspoken. My characters tell me so much and no more…most of the time we’re
inexpressive, giving little away, unreliable, elusive, obstructive, unwilling. But it’s out of
these attributes that a language arises. A language, I repeat, where under what is said,
another thing is being said”

12. What is the role of memory in the play? Does it connect or separate characters? Focus on
scenes 1 and 2
The role of memory is established since the beginning, in scene 1, when Emma says to
Jerry that she has been thinking about him. They remember a moment in Jerry’s kitchen,
when he took Emma’s child. Emma says to Jerry that Charlotte still remembers that
moment and him and he answers “What a memory”. Furthermore, we see that Emma
remembers that this happened in Jerry's kitchen and he remembers that it happened in
Emma's kitchen, as if they were not sure about it.

13. Who is betrayed in the play? Is betrayal happening at several levels? Focus on scene 8.
In scene 8 we can see that Emma saw Judith (Jerry’s wife) in a restaurant with another
woman. As Jerry says, that restaurant is a long way from the hospital where she works, so,
we could say that Judith could be betraying Jerry too.