Genre
Comedy of Menace; Tragicomedy
Language
English
Setting and Context
The play takes place within one room (a bedsit) of a large rooming house in England. The exact time and place are purposefully vague.
Narrator and Point of View
The play has no narration.
Tone and Mood
The tone is primarily comic; the mood is one of loneliness, misery, and uncertainty.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Rose Hudd is the protagonist; her antagonists are Riley, Bert, Mr. Kidd, and the Sands.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is that Rose's sense of security is threatened by several uncertainties: whether Bert will be safe on icy roads, whether Mr. Kidd plans to kick her out of her room; and whether it is time for her to "go home," as Riley insists.
Climax
The play reaches its climax when Bert attacks Riley and Rose simultaneously loses her ability to see.
Foreshadowing
Mr. Kidd's suggestion that it would be bad if Riley tried to visit while Bert was home foreshadows Bert's attack on Riley.
Understatement
Allusions
Imagery
Paradox
Parallelism
Personification
At the end of the play, Bert delivers a short monologue in which he personifies his van as though it were a sexual partner: "She was good. She went with me. She don’t mix with me. I used my hand. Like that. I get hold of her."
Use of Dramatic Devices
Pathetic Fallacy: Throughout The Room, Pinter uses the dramatic device of pathetic fallacy by having Rose and other characters comment repeatedly on how it is cold and dark out. The grim weather reflects the political condition of the society Rose wishes to stay apart from, ensconced in the warmth of her bedsit.
