Nobel Lecture by Harold Pinter 

This is one if the most powerful things I have ever listened to in my 71 year old life.

This is still one of the most brilliant speeches I have ever heard.

I revisit this speech at least twice a year, “lest we forget” A testament to a dying mans last stand. His courageous inspiration lives on in the hearts of true humanitarians.

This speech should be broadcast every year instead of the State of the Union speech. Every year.

Nobel Lecture Art, Truth & Politics In 1958 I wrote the following: 'There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.' I believe that these assertions still make sense and do still apply to the exploration of reality through art. So as a writer I stand by them but as a citizen I cannot. As a citizen I must ask: What is true? What is false? Truth in drama is forever elusive. You never quite find it but the search for it is compulsive. The search is clearly what drives the endeavour. The search is your task. More often than not you stumble upon the truth in the dark, colliding with it or just glimpsing an image or a shape which seems to correspond to the truth, often without realising that you have done so. But the real truth is that there never is any such thing as one truth to be found in dramatic art. There are many. These truths challenge each other, recoil from each other, reflect each other, ignore each other, tease each other, are blind to each other. Sometimes you feel you have the truth of a moment in your hand, then it slips through your fingers and is lost. I have often been asked how my plays come about. I cannot say. Nor can I ever sum up my plays, except to say that this is what happened. That is what they said. That is what they did. Most of the plays are engendered by a line, a word or an image. The given word is often shortly followed by the image. I shall give two examples of two lines which came right out of the blue into my head, followed by an image, followed by me. The plays are The Homecoming and Old Times. The first line of The Homecoming is 'What have you done with the scissors?' The first line of Old Times is 'Dark.' In each case I had no further information. In the first case someone was obviously looking for a pair of scissors and was demanding their whereabouts of someone else he suspected had probably stolen them. But I somehow knew that the person addressed didn't give a damn about the scissors or about the questioner either, for that matter. 'Dark' I took to be a description of someone's hair, the hair of a woman, and was the answer to a question. In each case I found myself compelled to pursue the matter. This happened visually, a very slow fade, through shadow into light. I always start a play by calling the characters A, B and C. In the play that became The Homecoming I saw a man enter a stark room and ask his question of a younger man sitting on an ugly sofa reading a racing paper. I somehow suspected that A was a father and that B was his son, but I had no proof. This was however confirmed a short time later when B (later to become Lenny) says to A (later to become Max), 'Dad, do you mind if I change the subject? I want to ask you something. The dinner we had before, what was the name of it? What do you call it? Why don't you buy a dog? You're a dog cook. Honest. You think you're cooking for a lot of dogs.' So since B calls A 'Dad' it seemed to me reasonable to assume that they were father and son. A was also clearly the cook and his cooking did not seem to be held in high regard. Did this mean that there was no mother? I didn't know. But, as I told myself at the time, our beginnings never know our ends. 'Dark.' A large window. Evening sky. A man, A (later to become Deeley), and a woman, B (later to become Kate), sitting with drinks. 'Fat or thin?' the man asks. Who are they talking about? But I then see, standing at the window, a woman, C (later to become Anna), in another condition of light, her back to them, her hair dark. It's a strange moment, the moment of creating characters who up to that moment have had no existence. What follows is fitful, uncertain, even hallucinatory, although sometimes it can be an unstoppable avalanche. The author's position is an odd one. In a sense he is not welcomed by the characters. The characters resist him, they are not easy to live with, they are impossible to define. You certainly can't dictate to them. To a certain extent you play a never-ending game with them, cat and mouse, blind man's buff, hide and seek. But finally you find that you have people of flesh and blood on your hands, people with will and an individual sensibility of their own, made out of component parts you are unable to change, manipulate or distort. So language in art remains a highly ambiguous transaction, a quicksand, a trampoline, a frozen pool which might give way under you, the author, at any time. But as I have said, the search for the truth can never stop. It cannot be adjourned, it cannot be postponed. It has to be faced, right there, on the spot. Political theatre presents an entirely different set of problems. Sermonising has to be avoided at all cost. Objectivity is essential. The characters must be allowed to breathe their own air. The author cannot confine and constrict them to satisfy his own taste or disposition or prejudice. He must be prepared to approach them from a variety of angles, from a full and uninhibited range of perspectives, take them by surprise, perhaps, occasionally, but nevertheless give them the freedom to go which way they will. This does not always work. And political satire, of course, adheres to none of these precepts, in fact does precisely the opposite, which is its proper function. In my play The Birthday Party I think I allow a whole range of options to operate in a dense forest of possibility before finally focussing on an act of subjugation. Mountain Language pretends to no such range of operation. It remains brutal, short and ugly. But the soldiers in the play do get some fun out of it. One sometimes forgets that torturers become easily bored. They need a bit of a laugh to keep their spirits up. This has been confirmed of course by the events at Abu Ghraib in Baghdad. Mountain Language lasts only 20 minutes, but it could go on for hour after hour, on and on and on, the same pattern repeated over and over again, on and on, hour after hour. Ashes to Ashes, on the other hand, seems to me to be taking place under water. A drowning woman, her hand reaching up through the waves, dropping down out of sight, reaching for others, but finding nobody there, either above or under the water, finding only shadows, reflections, floating; the woman a lost figure in a drowning landscape, a woman unable to escape the doom that seemed to belong only to others. But as they died, she must die too. Political language, as used by politicians, does not venture into any of this territory since the majority of politicians, on the evidence available to us, are interested not in truth but in power and in the maintenance of that power. To maintain that power it is essential that people remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of the truth, even the truth of their own lives. What surrounds us therefore is a vast tapestry of lies, upon which we feed. As every single person here knows, the justification for the invasion of Iraq was that Saddam Hussein possessed a highly dangerous body of weapons of mass destruction, some of which could be fired in 45 minutes, bringing about appalling devastation. We were assured that was true. It was not true. We were told that Iraq had a relationship with Al Quaeda and shared responsibility for the atrocity in New York of September 11th 2001. We were assured that this was true. It was not true. We were told that Iraq threatened the security of the world. We were assured it was true. It was not true. The truth is something entirely different. The truth is to do with how the United States understands its role in the world and how it chooses to embody it. But before I come back to the present I would like to look at the recent past, by which I mean United States foreign policy since the end of the Second World War. I believe it is obligatory upon us to subject this period to at least some kind of even limited scrutiny, which is all that time will allow here. Everyone knows what happened in the Soviet Union and throughout Eastern Europe during the post-war period: the systematic brutality, the widespread atrocities, the ruthless suppression of independent thought. All this has been fully documented and verified. But my contention here is that the US crimes in the same period have only been superficially recorded, let alone documented, let alone acknowledged, let alone recognised as crimes at all. I believe this must be addressed and that the truth has considerable bearing on where the world stands now. Although constrained, to a certain extent, by the existence of the Soviet Union, the United States' actions throughout the world made it clear that it had concluded it had carte blanche to do what it liked.

Really stunning stuff, the same old thing continues today (2020). I've listened to this speech year on year it never gets old.

www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2005/pinter-lecture-e.html For you that want a transcript...

I wish those who broadcast our TV news would have the guts to talk like Harold Pinter.

Harold Pinter was gifted, he was a genius.

'A good kick in the balls might bring Blair to his senses, though I doubt it.' Harold Pinter.

A paltry 11459 views for such a seminal speech in a world where a pop video could cruise past a million in a day or two

This needs to be broadcasted on television again - such an insightful speech from a truly wise individual

As a fellow Londoner, this represents so many things I believe in...in the UK the class system denies anyone of working-class origins to be defined as educated...this man is proof that the assumption is nonsense...

"When we look into a mirror we think the image that confronts us is accurate. But move a millimeter and the image changes. We are actually looking at a never-ending range of reflections. But sometimes a writer has to smash the mirror - for it is on the other side of that mirror that the truth stares at us."- Utterly brilliant. Thanks for uploading!

still my favourite speech of all time

watch it over and over again >>> brilliant may his soul RIP

I agree, he was brave and did it with solidarity in his heart!

The last line is the most important. I had no idea where this was going, and I don't think I have been exposed to Harold Pinter's work. I was riveted 2 minutes into it. This is an intelligent man, with a very well described perspective of things. It was very thought provoking, and an education to be sure. I had no idea how depraved our elected federal government has become. I am worried there can be no recovery except by the actions of the people. Too many don't want to know!

I'm an American (though, with great devotion to the people of my indigenous ancestry) and I agree with every word of this speech. I'm sure Harold Pinter was quite aware that this speech also applied to many of the people of Great Britain and Tony Blair, Netanyahu and Israel, as well as any other of the many nations that took any part in the imperialist invasion of largely innocent, "Islamist" countries of the Middle East, since 9/11, which may be part of a beginning of false-flag covert operations to continue to engender, finance and further the war, making a handful of terribly wealthy people, even more wealthy off the blood of both foreign and domestic combatants and innocent civilian lives of all ages and all nations involved. Still, there are those, of all countries, even within military, business and banking sectors, government and of course, most of all, common citizens, everywhere in all nations, all people, Muslim, Jewish, French, American, people of all nations, that want this war to end in peace, for all future wars to be stopped before they begin, with truth, justice, equanimity and reconciliation. May all ignorance and violence, everywhere, be overcome by truth, justice and compassion.

I no longer feel alone.

Fearlessness and power in his words.

Thank you for uploading this. It's timely today Aug. 15, 2022--as is Vijay Prashad's book Washington Bullets.

Noe Berengena One of the most important things I ever heard was Harold Pinter's acceptance speech, "Art, Truth and Politics" for his Nobel Prize, on December 7, 2005. Pinter spoke of the comfort cushion that Americans flop on whenever they need to escape something that demands attention and action. @Noe Berenga, *Hear! HEAR!!!* *As is the case* with the majority of Canadians and of the other *European-colonised societies' politicians and populations* as well.

For all you out there, my name is SvennA, yes I'm the only one. And a Swede, no! I'm a Dane! With that out of the picture, I will return to this brilliant speech, and just watch it over and over, we all need it! The US have to stop the low intensity warfare that have killed millions! And stop support fascist states all over the world! And why are the US still in Germany and Japan? Time to remove all the imperial troops all over the world!

40:38 "But the anxiety, uncertainty, and fear, which you can see growing daily in the United States is unlikely to diminish."

It takes a certain understanding of history and life to get Pinter..

Perhaps the most astonishing Nobel lecture to date.

I am crying

Such a GREAT Address - sad so sad - - THIS ADDRESS MUST BE KEPT ALIVE !

Let other people know about the video. It is well worth to watch over and over!

I will age and my essence will become heavy with Mr. Harold's qualities...

I still can't believe that all this has actually been said and that all this has been said such a long time ago. What a wonderful world we live in indeed.

So very well said by Harold Pinter .A 46:30 minutes that goes by like a flash .Harold was a master of eloquence in thought and speech . A peace activist forever .

Harold Pinter was a great thinker as well as a playwright and actor/director......his voice still sounds for all those areas he spoke against and for...

The Birthday Party made me fall in love with books - thank you Harold Pinter ❤

Art, Truth and Politics

11 years on yuotube , and not a single dislike !!!!!!!!

Listen to it now.

Thank you for watching, this is important!

Both Harold Pinter and Emil Jensen are two of a few bright stars that spreads light in a dark sky! Thanks for sharing and keep spreading the good word!

Four dislikes, all of them must be Americans...

It is salutary to revisit this speech in 2018. Thank you for posting.

Transcripts in English, Swedish, French, and German are available on the Nobel Prize site. I can't post URLs here or I would. Just google "Pinter Nobel Speech Transcripts"! :) It really does need to be spread around, not just for the political message but also for the distinction it draws between art and politics when it comes to truth, as the title promises.

I'm grateful it got uploaded,therefore more access.

Such a fine talk...

The passing of Harold Pinter was the passing of an entire generation that straddled WWII and who had been witness to the greatest atrocities in human history. That generation, having witnessed such mass evil, needed to hear and to cherish the truth. It was reflected in art and briefly in politics and economics. The response from our ruling class has been to draw an iron curtain, not across Europe but, across the truth. Today we are controlled by "a tapestry of lies" and each day we lose more and more of our civility in the name of national security. Pinter's chilling indictment of the US and UK governments will never be heard again with such power and eloquence. Pinter's art is gone forever and his generation if they haven't passed already, have mostly evaporated into either supporters of the status quo or indifferent egoists. We need a voice like Pinter's not to speak truth to power but to shout in a deafening scream the truth about the delusions we have inherited in a world where propaganda stands in for art and truth is a corpse disguised as dramatic spectacle.

Thanks for uploading! This is just brilliant on every level. Definitely needs more views!

I love this man and all he stands for.

This lecture is not appropiate for those who believe in a Hollywood/Disney view of the world. More valid now than ever.

The man knew he was dying and so he could utter the "truth". Nothing to lose, so to say. I wonder if this is what it takes to finally be able to tell the truth. Death is the ultimate priest of absolution.

An excellent speech. Pinter hits the nail on the head.

Good to hear Pinter shed some light on the (his own personal) writing process for his plays.

I was the scenic for Mountain Language, Mr. Pinter was a lovely man to work for.

This is especially important to our time now. He spoke for the future.

required listening for any artist, or citizen for that matter.

This speech can easily destroy devotion to the entertaining distractions of mindless consumerist culture. Mindless consumers would have to get off their cushy couch and stop their spoon-fed diet. (Would they? Could they?) // In Pinter's words (2005): " You don't have to think. Just lie back on the cushion. The cushion may be suffocating your intelligence and your critical faculties but it's very comfortable. This does not apply of course to the 40 million people living below the poverty line and the 2 million men and women imprisoned in the vast gulag of prisons… across the US."

Great man, full of warmth and humanity. I'd like to buy Harold a pint!

I wonder how Harold would react to what is happening right now?

I am speechless, this was the most interesting speech I ever heard , I think. It was scary in a way.

Simply brilliant!👏👏👏

This made a huge impression on me, I was 17 at the time. I think Pinter would have a lot to say about the hypocracy and dictatorial tendencies of both todays globalists and nationalists, were he alive today.

My guru. Thanks for uploading. We definitely need more vedeos like this one to open our eyes and enlighten our minds.

Greatest speech in the English language ! RIP Harold

RIP Harold Pinter, and God bless you!

Brilliant speech of a brilliant mind! Thanks for posting this Svenna.

Thanks so much for posting this Svenna , you did a good thing.ty

Beautiful, beautiful speech

Sad to see only 142 000 hits on such a monumental speech.

I love this,the indignation and sincerity.

greatest speech I have ever heard....

Thank You for watching!

Harold Pinter began as a playwriter of short, absurdly humerus acts. When he became popular he produced much more serious but still profoundly exposes of absurdities in human nature. One may wonder in his receiving the Nobel Prize presenting a speech which is focused on the evil deceptions of war policies by the still largest military power in the world, the USA. Yet if a person fixes their attention, the compassionate and truthful expose rings in rare support of Indigenous peoples of America, of cruelties in the prison system, in the world deception of democratic rule by military establishments around the world. It would have been more pleasant to hear a erudition of his art of writing, but I am still glad for these rare, deeply incisive words, that still ring true today in world politics. His dedication to the art of truth is represented by many people in the field of the arts, such as Jane Fonda, and John Lennon.

Amazing challenge to the current accepted world view. Worth every minute for every thinking person.

I heard John Pilger mentioning his name, and thus i discovered him, and "No man's Land" witch i find very deeply elusive and insightful in my own human behavior, posture, as one of the former, goddamn "No man's Land". Got my brain ticking

This is a great one

This speech was shown on BBC2 at 1 am

I dont follow you anymore than I follow Pinter but it’s fascinating.

Yes, and the US seems only to have a hammer, and therefore every problem looks like a nail... “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” - Abraham Maslow

Really? I saw it on Channel 4 a few years ago. But I love him and thank you for showing it.

amazing. he goes straight into politics and he is on point for sure

Amazing..

You are welcome!

Thanks! From you this is a compliment!

i keep bumping into the fallacy life offers only to have my path redirected toward truth. thank you for nudging me closer to conquering the universe

does anyone have a copy/video of his 1990 programme 'Oh Superman'? it was incredible, and I can't find it anywhere

The man is spitting FIRE

Excellent lecture

Splendid !!

Now open for the whole world: "Dear Svenna Jensen, Channel 4 has reviewed your dispute and released its copyright claim on your video, "Nobel Lecture by Harold Pinter". For more information, please visit your Copyright Notice page Sincerely, - The RU-vid Team"

It's amazing non the less, well done for posting it, take care

so awesome

Thank you! A princess that can think!

Beautiful man. Beautiful work. Terrifying truth.

'Political language, as used by politicians, does not venture into any of this territory since the majority of politicians, on the evidence available to us, are interested not in truth but in power and in the maintenance of that power. To maintain that power it is essential that people remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of the truth, even the truth of their own lives. What surrounds us therefore is a vast tapestry of lies, upon which we feed.'

Damn, that poem was intense!

Yank here. Pinter nailed it. The salesmen metaphor was spot on.

Very powerful.

thank you for sharing

Richard took me here ;D

2:14 Such a Pinter thing to say! But seriously, his sometimes surreal plots, his unwillingness to speak about the meaning of his work, this guy was the David Lynch it playwrights!