Procedural Absurdity and Epistemic Obedience: Disciplinary Power in Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter (Published)
This paper explores the role of absurdity in Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter (1960) not only as a stylistic register, but as a mechanism for institutional control. The study intends to follow how instructions are maintained even if reasons or feasibility are denied, which is called the procedural absurdity, thus leading to a new consideration of Ben’s role of epistemic obedience, compliance based on habit rather than understanding. The research uses a qualitative, textual method, based on the close reading, Esslin’s (2001) theory of the absurd and Foucauldian (1995) theory, and applied to the exchanges of the newspapers, the ketlle dispute, the food orders, the speaking tube, pauses, and the final instruction. The analysis shows that uncertainty subjugates Ben, turning him into a relay that reproduces commands to Gus. The play acknowledges the procedural nature of obedience, and the political power of turning incomprehension into institutional measures of discipline.
Keywords: Disciplinary power, Epistemic Obedience, Institutional Authorit, Procedural Absurdity, The Dumb Waiter
Interrogating Foucauldian Concept of Power/Knowledge in Shakespeare’s The Tempest (Published)
This paper is an attempt to discuss the operation of power/knowledge and invisible disciplinary measures that are operational in Shakespeare’s tragi-comedy The Tempest. Prospero’s island in this play can be assumed as a metaphorical presentation of modern society where human behavior is determined by the implication of power/knowledge structure. The play validates Michel Foucault’s claim for omnipotent nature of Power being operated through the manipulations of Knowledge. Power and knowledge are inseparable and in order to make an effective society, modern institutions ceaselessly produce knowledge leading to “biopower”. These are the basic tenets of Michel Foucault’s conception of power/knowledge. Besides the theme of power, this play can also be analyzed basing on power relations and production of knowledge in both the court and exiled life. We have tried to analyze Shakespeare’s theme of power in The Tempest in the light of Foucault’s concepts and explore human relations based on the integrity of power/knowledge. However, the paper also shows the reversal of power relations in the form of resistance from the apparently docile and controlled bodies.
Keywords: Biopower, Disciplinary power, Panopticon, Power/knowledge, Resistance