Murder in the Cathedral (1935)

Can be staged or read as a closet drama. The chorus is "of Women", the players are three male cathedral priests, a messenger, Thomas Becket, four Tempters/Knights, and attendants. Set in the Hall of the Archbishop, Canterbury, December 2d, 1170.

The chorus of women introduce themselves--"we are not ignorant women"-- and set the stage with particulars of the Archbishop's return to Canterbury, and ending with the question "Shall the Son of Man be born again in the litter of scorn? For us, the poor, there is no action, But only to wait and to witness."

The play exposes the consequences--fear and chaos of entire peoples [20]--caused by the idiocy of tyrant Kings who engage in endless "intrigue, combinations", devouring their own people. [14]

Becket is "tempted" by four Temptors: First, by friendships and kissing pleasures, then by power, and then by rough English unity against a tyrant King. Finally, by Mystery--the appeal of "eternal grandeur" as a martyr for the Church.

The "Interlude" has the Archbishop preach a Christmas Sermon. The message highlights the cruel combination of celebration and grief engaged in the feast of celebration of the Savior's birth, who is at once mourned.

The Priests express their devotion with ineffective (cowardly) tactical evasions--flight, perhaps back to France. The Knights kill Becket. And then "having completed the murder", they advance center stage and address the audience. They beg the audience to hear "the merits of this extremely complex problem" and proceed to make brilliant arguments justifying their action--stone cold murder!

The Priests continue to make lame/ineffective invocations, and the Chorus returns to recite a great hymn to pantheism--"We praise Thee, O God, for Thy glory displayed in all the creatures of the earth..."!

Of course, the dramatic but subtle takeaway may be the exposure of the fact that the entire world is foul. Even among the most conscious creatures, cruelties abound. The outcomes never, ever, never never never result in justice. "Our hearts are torn" even as they beat with life, and even the air and the stones of the world "cannot be cleaned or redeemed". [78]

Does Faith provide space for Hope in this journey? ( )

One of the darkest plays I have ever read. Absolutely wonderful!! ( )

The greatest work of verse by the great American/English poet T.S. Eliot was not in a poem (though some readers of The Waste Land might disagree). It is surely Murder in the Cathedral. In a short play, Eliot shows his mastery of the British form of Church and State. In so doing, he sends a message that those who do not practice justice shall some day receive vengeance.

The story of the 12th-century Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas a Becket is well-known. He spoke out against a tyrannical King. The King of the English would not relent, so he killed Thomas in his cathedral. Thomas’ blood, however, spoke volumes about King Henry. His story later called to mind when another King Henry beheaded another Thomas (More) over the expedient English separation from Rome. This type of story is a reminder through the ages that ultimately, integrity trumps power. No one knows much of Henry II, but Thomas Becket’s story still speaks to English school-children.

Eliot was born in St. Louis but settled in England. He worshipped English culture with his whole heart. As an adult, he converted to Anglo-Catholicism and thereafter practiced his devotion until his death. While teaching at Harvard for a year, he came into contact with the idea that theater was the new venue of poetry. Out of these currents, he put together this play, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The story is short; the tale is epic; the writing is clear; and the topic is masterful. Works like this simply make life more worthwhile. ( )

Amazing poetry and performances. On the nature of ambition and opposition to authority. A perfect story for our times. I have access to six recordings of the performance (1938, 1953, 1968, 1976, 1983, 2003) and the version from 1953 with Robert Donat is the best IMO and critically acclaimed. I dipped into the others and they don't have the same gravity or are over-produced, though a wide variety of interpretive performances. The text is quite rich and the play rewards. ( )

Human kind cannot bear very much reality.

The structure of this play is gripping. The use of the chorus was very effective, whereas the depiction of a conflicted Becket in dialogue with his temptations could’ve been explored further. The absence of Henry II makes matters more human and inchoate. The state is thus shorn of personality. The debate of ideas and sacrifice reminded me of the debate surrounding Edward Snowden. Unfortunately I began to ponder and compare the fixed points of liberty and security and my attention drifted. ( )