Genre
Tragicomedy; Theatre of the Absurd
Language
English
Setting and Context
A single room somewhere in Birmingham, England
Narrator and Point of View
N/A
Tone and Mood
Tense; comical; absurd
Protagonist and Antagonist
N/A
Major Conflict
The two hitmen want to get their "job" (killing a target who will come to their room) over with.
Climax
Ben gets the call that the person to kill will be arriving at his door, and when the door opens it is Gus, his partner.
Foreshadowing
Gus wonders repeatedly about when the person will arrive and who it will be.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
While there may not be any direct allusions to Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" in this work, its influence is manifest—e.g., in the analogous roles of Wilson and Godot.
Imagery
See the separate imagery section of this guide.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
N/A
Personification
N/A
Use of Dramatic Devices
Pinter makes use of dramatic pauses and silences to build tension and suspense. He also includes many stage directions regarding actions and line delivery, controlling the way scenes play out and characters are developed.
