Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot

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Murder in the CathedralbyT.S. Eliot

• Genre of work Drama
• Type of Plot Religious chronicle
• Time of plot 1170
• Locale Canterbury, England
• First presented was written for the Canterbury
  Festival in June, 1935

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Murder in the CathedralbyT.S. Eliot

• Format of drama
• mostly in poetic form, with effective expression
  by the chorus (Eliot believed that for
  contemporary drama to be most effective, it had
  to be written in poetry.)
• The archbishops sermon is in prose.
• The anachronistic speeches of justification by
  the knights are written in prose.

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Murder in the CathedralbyT.S. Eliot

• Eliot links devices derived from the Greeks the
  chorus, static action, and Aristotelian purgation
  with his profound commitment to the
  Anglo-Catholic liturgy.
• The play in many ways resembles a medieval
  morality play whose purpose was to enlighten as
  well as entertain.

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Murder in the CathedralbyT.S. Eliot

• What is Eliot saying about each of the following
  theme topics?
• Faith
• Justification
• Power
• Internal conflict
• External conflict

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Murder in the CathedralbyT.S. Eliot

• The drama is an impartial representation.
• T.S. Eliot shows the politics, both temporal and
  churchly, which lay behind the murder he
  presents the archbishop as a man torn between
  acting and suffering.

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Murder in the CathedralbyT.S. Eliot

• The play, dealing with an individual's stand
  against authority, was written at the time of
  rising Fascism in Central Europe, and can be
  taken as an outcry to individuals in affected
  countries to stand firm against the Nazi regime's
  perversion and subversion of the ideals of the
  Christian Church.

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Murder in the CathedralbyT.S. Eliot

• Principal Characters
• Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket
• Priests
• Tempters
• Knights
• Chorus of Women of Canterbury

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Part I

• The women of Canterbury have been instinctively
  drawn to the cathedral by fear of danger and the
  need to bear witness.
• Becket had been gone for seven years. In his
  absence, the poor had suffered oppression. During
  this time, the women had tried to keep their
  households in order and safe.

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Part I

• The priests knew that the struggle for power was
  at hand (Henry II vs. the Church).
• All were wondering if the archbishop and the king
  had been reconciled.
• A herald tells of a hasty compromise and that
  Becket had said that the king would not see him
  again.

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Part I

• After the herald left, all expressed pessimism.
  Many thought that it would be better if the king
  were stronger OR Becket weaker.
• They were glad that Becket was returning home to
  them.
• The women thought that Becket should return to
  France he could still be their spiritual leader
  but be safe.

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Part I

• Becket arrives and speaks to the priests and the
  women.
• Becket tells them of the difficulties that he has
  had due to the rebellious bishops and barons
  wanting him dead.
• He had been spied on and had his letters
  intercepted.
• At Sandwich, he had barely escaped from his
  enemies.

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Part I The First Tempter

• Reminds Becket of when he was chancellor not
  archbishop
• As chancellor, Becket had known worldly pleasure
  and worldly success.
• For Becket to avoid his present hard fate, The
  First Tempter suggests to Becket to relax his
  severity and dignity, to be friendly, and to
  overlook disagreeable principles. Becket is
  strong in his refusal.

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Part I The Second Tempter

• Tempts Becket with having lasting power as
  chancellor again
• While Becket was chancellor, the king commanded,
  but the chancellor (Becket) ruled.
• Becket asks about rebellious bishops whom he had
  excommunicated and barons whose privileges he had
  revoked.

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Part I The Second Tempter (cont.)

• The Second Tempter is confident that
• the rebellious bishops and the excommunicated
  barons would be able to be controlled if Becket
  were chancellor again with the kings power
  behind him.
• Becket again had the strength to say no.

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Part I The Third Tempter

• Easier to deal with than the 1st and 2nd
• Represented a clique that wanted to overthrow the
  throne
• The Third Tempter tells Becket that if Becket
  would lead them, the clique would make the power
  of the Church supreme the barons and the
  bishops would be ruled by the Church not the
  king.
• Becket said no.

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Part I The Fourth Tempter

• Unexpected
• Showed Becket how he could have eternal glory
• If Becket continues on his present course, he
  will become a martyr and a saint, to dwell
  forevermore in the presence of God.
• Beckets dilemma no matter if he acted or
  suffered, he would sin against his religion.

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Interlude

• Early on Christmas morning, Becket preaches a
  sermon on peace.
• Christ left us his peace, but not peace as the
  world thinks of it. Spiritual peace did not
  necessarily mean England at peace with other
  countries or the barons at peace with the king.

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Part II

• Christmas time has passed.
• Four knights come to Canterbury on urgent
  business.
• They refuse all hospitality.
• They state charges against Becket, saying that he
  owes all of his influence to the king.
• The knights try to attack Becket, but the priests
  and the attendants prevent the attack.

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Part II

• The charges that Becket had gone to France to get
  the King of France and then the popes support
  are promoted in public.
• King Henry is portrayed to the public as
  permitting Beckets return with Becket repaying
  him by excommunicating the bishops who had
  crowned the young prince which put the legality
  of the coronation in doubt.

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Part II

• The knights pronounce Beckets sentence he and
  his followers must leave English soil.
• Beckets reply He would never leave England
  again he was only carrying out the popes orders
  in excommunicating the bishops.

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Part II

• In the cathedral, the knights slew Becket.

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Part II

• The knights give their rationales
• It may look like four against one, but
• The four knights would NOT benefit from the
  murder.
• The king, for reasons of state, would deplore the
  incident, and the knights would at least be
  banished from England.
• It was really hard for a good churchman to kill
  an archbishop.

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Part II

• The knights rationales continued
• Since Becket had been an able chancellor, the
  king had hoped, in elevating him to the
  archbishopric, to unite temporal and spiritual
  rule and to bring order to a troubled kingdom.
• As soon as Becket was elevated, he became more
  priestly than the priests AND refused to follow
  the kings orders.

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Part II

• The knights rationales continued
• Becket had become egotistical.
• Becket had prophesied his death in England.
• Becket was determined to suffer a martyrs fate.
• The public should conclude that Becket had
  committed suicide while of an unsound mind.

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Part II

• After the knights left, the priests and populace
  mourned.
• Their only solace was that so long as men will
  die for faith, the Church will be supreme.

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Critics Thoughts

• Spectators are drawn into the drama due to the
  auditory imagination the almost primitive
  rhythmic manipulation of Eliots deceptively
  simple verse. (style)
• The audience can easily relate, whether
  consciously or unconsciously, to the four
  allurements offered to Becket by the tempters
  worldly pleasure, temporal power, spiritual
  power, eternal glory.

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Questions for the Audience

• What are ones debts to
• the temporal realm?
• friendship?
• gratitude?

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Good versus Evil?

• The play does NOT simply present a case of good
  versus evil.
• The conflict is one of mystiques, each with a
  well-developed rationale.
• The choice is between alternatives NOT
  opposites Becket, who fears that he may be a
  victim of the sin of pride, must nevertheless
  proceed, to his damnation or to his salvation.

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AP English Literature and Composition Exam
Questions

• 1976. The conflict created when the will of an
  individual opposes the will of the majority is
  the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and
  essays. Select the work of an essayist who is in
  opposition to his or her society or from a work
  of recognized literary merit, select a fictional
  character who is in opposition to his or her
  society. In a critical essay, analyze the
  conflict and discuss the moral and ethical
  implications for both the individual and the
  society. Do not summarize the plot or action of
  the work you choose.

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AP English Literature and Composition Exam
Questions

• 1980. A recurring theme in literature is the
  classic war between passion and responsibility.
  For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire
  for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong,
  or some other emotion or drive may conflict with
  moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a
  character confronts the demands of a private
  passion that conflicts with his or her
  responsibilities. In a well-written essay show
  clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects
  upon the character, and its significance to the
  work.

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AP English Literature and Composition Exam
Questions

• 1985. A critic has said that one important
  measure of a superior work of literature is its
  ability to produce in the reader a healthy
  confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a
  literary work that produces this healthy
  confusion. Write an essay in which you explain
  the sources of the pleasure and disquietude
  experienced by the readers of the work.

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AP English Literature and Composition Exam
Questions

• 1995. Writers often highlight the values of a
  culture or a society by using characters who are
  alienated from that culture or society because of
  gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a novel or
  a play in which such a character plays a
  significant role and show how that characters
  alienation reveals the surrounding societys
  assumptions or moral values.

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AP English Literature and Composition Exam
Questions

• 2007 (Form B). Works of literature often depict
  acts of betrayal. Friends and even family may
  betray a protagonist main characters may
  likewise be guilty of treachery or may betray
  their own values. Select a novel or play that
  includes such acts of betrayal. Then, in a
  well-written essay, analyze the nature of the
  betrayal and show how it contributes to the
  meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid plot
  summary.

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As we read the play, consider the five exam
prompts.

• Remember to put yourself into a characters role
  to try to experience the authors full intent as
  you read a drama that was meant to be experienced
  on the stage.