Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot
"Murder in the Cathedral" is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot that centers around the historical figure of Archbishop Thomas Becket and the political and spiritual turmoil of 12th-century England. The play opens with the women of Canterbury sensing danger as they gather in the cathedral, reflecting the overall atmosphere of fear and anticipation surrounding Becket's return after a seven-year exile. As the archbishop arrives, he faces temptations and challenges from various figures representing worldly power, each urging him to compromise his principles and seek security through political alliances.
Eliot explores themes of martyrdom, faith, and the struggle between church and state, capturing the tension between Becket’s spiritual convictions and the realpolitik of his time. The play culminates in a dramatic confrontation between Becket and four knights sent by King Henry II, leading to Becket's tragic murder within the cathedral. This act of violence serves as a poignant commentary on the conflicts between authority, loyalty, and individual conscience. Ultimately, "Murder in the Cathedral" invites reflection on the nature of power, the price of integrity, and the enduring significance of faith in the face of oppression. The work remains a powerful exploration of moral dilemmas and the complexities of human belief systems.
Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot
First produced: 1935; first published, 1935
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Historical
Time of plot: 1170
Locale: Canterbury, England
Principal Characters
Archbishop Thomas Becket ,Priests ,Tempters ,Knights ,Chorus of Women of Canterbury ,
The Story
The women of Canterbury are drawn to the cathedral and know instinctively that they are drawn there by danger. There is no safety anywhere, but they have to bear witness. Archbishop Thomas Becket has been gone seven years. He was always been kind to his people, but he should not return. During the periods when the king and the barons ruled alternately, the poor were oppressed. Like common people everywhere, the women had tried to keep their households in order and to escape the notice of the various rulers. Now they could only wait and witness.
The priests of the cathedral are well aware of the coming struggle for power. The archbishop has been in France where he has enlisted the aid of the pope. Henry of Anjou is a stubborn king, however. The priests know that the strong rule by force, and the weak rule by whim. The only law is that of seizing power and holding it.
A herald announces that the archbishop is nearing the city and that they are to prepare at once for his coming. Anxiously, they ask whether there will be peace or war and whether the archbishop and the king have reconciled or not. The herald is of the opinion that there has been only a hasty compromise. He does not know that when the archbishop parted from the king, the prelate had said that King Henry would not see him again in this life.
After the herald leaves, one priest expresses the pessimism felt by all. When Thomas Becket was chancellor and in temporal power, courtiers flattered and fawned over him, but even then he felt insecure. Either the king should have been stronger or Thomas weaker. For a time, the priests are hopeful that when Thomas returns he will lead them. The women think the archbishop should return to France where he will be safe. As the priests start to drive out the women, the archbishop arrives and asks them to remain. Thomas Becket tells his priests of the difficulties he has encountered and that rebellious bishops and the barons have sworn to have his head. They sent spies to him and intercepted his letters. At Sandwich, he barely escaped with his life.
The first tempter arrives to talk with Thomas. When he was chancellor, Thomas had known worldly pleasure and worldly success. Many had been his friends, and at that time he knew how to let friendship dictate over principles. To escape his present hard fate, he needs only to relax his severity and dignity, to be friendly, and to overlook disagreeable principles. Thomas has the strength to give the tempter a strong refusal.
The second tempter reminds Thomas of his temporal power as chancellor: He could be chancellor again and have lasting power. It is well known that the king only commands, whereas the chancellor rules. Power is an attribute of the present; holiness is more useful after death. Real power has to be purchased by wise submission, and his present spiritual authority leads only to death. Thomas asks about rebellious bishops whom he had excommunicated and barons whose privileges he had curtailed. The tempter is confident that these dissidents will come to heel if Thomas were chancellor with the king’s power behind him. Again, Thomas has the strength to say no.
The third tempter is even easier to deal with. He represents a clique intent on overthrowing the throne. If Thomas will lead them, they can make the power of the Church supreme. No more will the barons as well as the bishops be ruled by a king. Thomas declines the offer to lead the malcontents.
The fourth tempter is unexpected. He shows Thomas how he can have eternal glory. As plain archbishop, the time will come when men will neither respect nor hate him; he will become a fact of history. So it is with temporal power, too: King succeeds king as the wheel of time turns. Shrines are pillaged and thrones become unstable. If, however, Thomas continues in his present course, he will become a martyr and a saint and will dwell forevermore in the presence of God. The archbishop faces a dilemma. No matter whether he acts or suffers, he will sin against his religion.
Early Christmas morning, Thomas delivers a sermon on peace and preaches that Christ left people his peace, but it is not peace as the world thinks of it. Spiritual peace does not necessarily mean political peace between England and other countries or between the barons and the king.
After Christmas, four knights come to Canterbury on urgent business. Refusing all hospitality, they begin to cite charges against Thomas and claim that he owes all his influence to the king, that he was of common birth, and that his eminence is due solely to King Henry’s favor. The knights try to attack Thomas, but the priests and attendants intervene.
The charges are publicly amplified: Thomas had gone to France to stir up trouble in the dominion and to conspire with the king of France and the pope. In his charity, King Henry permitted Thomas to return to his diocesan center, but Thomas repaid that charity by excommunicating the bishops who had crowned the young prince; hence the legality of the coronation is in doubt. The knights then pronounce his sentence: Thomas and his attendants must leave English soil.
Thomas answers firmly. In France he had been a beggar of foreign charity; he would never leave England again. He has no dislike for the prince; rather, he only carried out the pope’s orders in excommunicating the bishops. These words availed little. In the cathedral proper, the knights fall on Thomas Becket and slay him.
The knights justify the slaying. It may have looked like four against one, an offense against the English belief in fair play, but before deciding, the people should know the whole story.
First, the four knights would not benefit from the murder. The king, for reasons of state, would deplore the incident, and the knights would be banished.
Second, the king had hoped that in elevating Thomas to the level of archbishop, the temporal and spiritual rule would be united and order would be brought to a troubled kingdom. As soon as Thomas was elevated, however, he had become more priestly than the priests and refused to follow the king’s orders.
Third, Thomas had become an egotistical madman. There is evidence that before leaving France he had clearly prophesied his death in England and he had been determined to suffer a martyr’s fate. In the face of this provocation, the people must conclude that Thomas had committed suicide while of unsound mind.
After the knights leave, the priests and populace mourn. Their only solace is that as long as people will die for faith, the Church will be supreme.
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