A Room in A Large House (Visual Imagery)
Before his characters begin their dialogue, Pinter includes in the stage directions a description of the setting. Using simple language, Pinter refers to the Hudds' one-room bedsit flat as "a room in a large house" that features a gas fire, stove, sink, window, table and chairs, rocking chair, armchair, and double bed. In this example of visual imagery, Pinter uses the sparsely furnished room to establish the couple's socioeconomic status as working-class people of humble means.
She Stands Watching the Door (Visual Imagery)
At the end of the second scene, Bert rises from the table to leave. Scrambling, Rose hands him a muffler scarf and advises him to wear his overcoat. However, Bert behaves as though he can't hear her, exiting the stage without an overcoat. Left alone, Rose "stands, watching the door, then turns slowly to the table, picks up the magazine, and puts it down. She stands and listens, goes to the fire, bends, lights the fire and warms her hands. She stands and looks about the room. She looks at the window and listens, goes quickly to the window, stops and straightens the curtain." In this example of visual imagery, Pinter shows Rose restlessly moving about the stage, standing occasionally as if at a loss for what to do, and returning to moving restlessly. From observing her agitated movements, the audience experiences the loneliness Rose feels when Bert isn't there to listen to her rambling thoughts.
Sharp Knock at the Door (Auditory Imagery)
After the Sands leave Rose's room, she once again moves restlessly about her room, straightening up objects. However, she eventually settles in her rocking chair, where she sits still. Just as Rose seems to have calmed, Pinter's stage directions say, "There is a sharp knock at the door." In this example of auditory imagery, Pinter uses the abrupt, forceful sound of someone knocking on the door to disrupt the momentary calm. In doing so, Pinter keeps the audience on edge, contributing to the building atmosphere of menace.
The Negro Lies Still (Visual Imagery)
After a tense exchange, Rose and Riley enter a tender moment of intimacy as Rose gently caresses the blind man's face. However, the scene is interrupted by Bert, who returns home and gloats about how well he drove his van on the icy roads. Although initially he seems to pay no attention to Riley—referred to in the final stage directions as "the Negro"—Bert knocks Riley out of his chair before striking him. Once Bert has knocked Riley down a second time, he "kicks his head against the gas-stove several times" and "the Negro lies still." In this example of visual imagery, Pinter closes the play with a shocking eruption of racial violence that may have killed Riley. With this unexpected open ending, the audience is left to think about how this act of violence colors the mundane events of the play.
