Jornal of Al-Turath Univeresity College Issue.

19 ___ (76)

The Theme of Martyrdom in T. S. Eliot's Murder in the

Cathedral

Ghassan Awad Ibrahim

Asst. Instructor
Al-Turath University College
Department of English

ABSTRACT

This research paper deals with T. S. Eliot's treatment of the martyrdom's

theme of Thomas Becket (1118-1170) who was the Archbishop of Canterbury
from 1162 until his murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 due to his
engagement with King Henry II (1133-1189) over the rights and privileges of the
Christian Church.

Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral is written to deal with an individual's

opposition to authority and how Becket attaches himself to the way of the
Almighty God to attain true martyrdom.

In describing his understanding of the martyrdom within the drama, Eliot

blends his Anglo-Catholicism with mystical, philosophical and poetic works as
well as elements such as faith and ambition to expose Becket's struggle for
martyrdom.
‫‪Jornal of Al-Turath Univeresity College‬‬ ‫‪Issue.19‬‬ ‫___‬ ‫)‪(77‬‬

‫موضوع ألشهادة في مسرحية تي‪ .‬أس‪ .‬أليوت جريمة في الكاتدرائية‬

‫غسان عواد أبراهيم‬

‫مدرس مساعد‬
‫قسم أللغة أالنجليزية‬
‫كلية ألتراث ألجامعة‬
‫ألمستخلص‬

‫يعنى هذا البحث بمعالجة تي‪ .‬أس‪ .‬اليوت لموضوع استشهاد توماس بيكيت (‪ )1170-1118‬الذي كان رئيس‬
‫أساقفة كانتربري للفترة من ‪ 1162‬حتى قتله في كاتدرائية كانتربري في سنة ‪ 1170‬كنتيجة عن صراعه مع‬
‫الملك هنري الثاني (‪ )1189-1133‬حول حقوق وامتيازات الكنيسة المسيحية‪.‬‬

‫تتناول مسرحية اليوت جريمة في الكاتدرائية معارضة فرد للسلطة وكيف ان انسان مثل (بيكيت) يتبع طريق‬
‫هللا للحصول على الموت في سبيل المبدأ‪.‬‬

‫في معرض وصفه لالستشهاد ضمن المسرحية‪ ,‬مزج اليوت دينه الكاثوليكي االنكليزي مع اعماله التي تتصف‬
‫بمعنى روحي وفلسفي وشعري باإلضافة الى عناصر مثل االيمان والطموح لعرض صراع بيكيت للحصول على‬
‫الشهادة‪.‬‬
Jornal of Al-Turath Univeresity College Issue.19 ___ (78)

Murder in the Cathedral (1935) written by T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) is one of the
big landmarks in the history of English drama. The play appeared at a time
when European society was not quite sure what to do with itself because most of
the thirties (the decade between 1930 and 1939) was consumed by an economic
downfall called the Great Depression that had a traumatic effect worldwide,
causing a widespread unemployment and poverty and leading to the outbreak of
the Second World War (1939-1945) a few months before the end of the decade.
This was also a time of personal difficulty for Eliot due to his failing marriage
and the disorder of his nerves. Eliot expresses his religious feelings in his
drama.

Murder in the Cathedral is a verse drama divided into two parts,

portraying the assassination of the Archbishop Thomas Becket1 (1118-1170) in
the Canterbury Cathedral2. The play was premiered in 1935 in the same
Cathedral where Becket was assassinated to commemorate his martyrdom. He
was born in 1118 to a wealthy London merchant family. When he was thirty-six
years old, King Henry II (1133-1189) appointed him as the Chancellor of
England. Eventually Becket was named the Archbishop of Canterbury. But a
trouble emerged between him and the King as a result of disagreements between
the King and the Church. However, the Archbishop stood up for the Church,
which angered the King. Things became so bad, forcing Becket to leave
England and live in France for several years. In 1170 he returned to England
and eventually four knights from the King’s court had murdered him on
December 29 of the same year.

The play's premiere at the Cathedral was described by the English critic
Frederick Lumley (1761-1831) as "an occasion which will be remembered in
theatrical history."3 In the play, Eliot uses many characters to cause the
psychological conflict of the protagonist, Beckett. They are the chorus, three
priests, four tempters, four knights, and a messenger. In addition to the use of
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verse, different passages of prose are also used in writing the play which
comprise attractive symbols and images.

The chorus is mostly in the Greek fashion because it does not participate in
the action but only narrates, comments and suggests its views. Besides, it is also
used as an expository device as it sometimes tells things that occur off stage, or
happen before the play starts. Thus it can be regarded as a link between the
past, present, and future of many events as it helps the play to keep its parts
connected and related to each other. Therefore, it foretells Becket's murder in
the early beginning of the play:

And there is no safety in the cathedral. Some passages of an act

which our eyes are compelled to witness, has forced our feet
towards the cathedral. We are forced to bear witness.
(I,p.177)4

The chorus which represents "the poor women of Canterbury" (I, p. 177),
narrates a short survey of Becket's departure from England in addition to his
kindness to people and then indirectly warns Becket not to come back to
England because it predicts that something bad will happen to him if he will
return:

Seven years and the summer is over,

seven years since the archbishop left us,
he who was always kind to his people.
but it would not be well if he should return.
(I, p. 178)
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In fact, part one of the play begins with the poor women of Canterbury who
expect that some danger threatens the Cathedral which is a safe place for
people, including the poor women, who are in danger and who can go there to be
safe. According to the previous quotation mentioned above the chorus laments
the seven long years of the Archbishop's absence. Metaphorically speaking, the
Archbishop, had always been a good and faithful shepherd to his flock. The
women long for his return because since his departure they seem that they have
suffered from the bad treatment of the King or his followers. Apparently,
without the Archbishop, the women are like a flock without its shepherd.
Despite the importance of the Archbishop's existence, the women fear for him
because they think that something bad would happen to him if he came back. As
soon as the messenger brings the news of Becket's arrival in England the chorus
gives a warning to the Archbishop to return to France where he was taking
refuge there because his return will bring about disasters not only to him but
also to England and the world as well:

O Thomas, return, Archbishop; return, return to France.

Return. Quickly. Quietly. Leave us to perish in quite.
You come with applause, you come with rejoicing, but you
come bringing death into Canterbury:
a doom on the house, a doom on yourself, a doom on the
world.
(I,p.181)

As long as common people are concerned, they seem too much to revere
Becket as the messenger describes the return of him from France to England
with beautiful images, as the roads are lined with people waving and throwing
their hats to the Archbishop. There is also the image of his horse whose tail hairs
are being plucked to be used as souvenirs by the greeting subjects who are:
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Lining the road and throwing down their capes,

Strewing the way with leaves and late flowers of the season.
The streets of the city will be packed to suffocation,
And I think that his horse will be deprived of its tail,
A single hair of which becomes a precious relic.
(I, pp. 179-180)
Apparently the chorus seems very worried about Becket's life, urging him
strongly to leave England and go back to France:

O Thomas, Archbishop, leave us, leave us, leave sullen Dover,

And set sail for France. Thomas our Archbishop still our
Archbishop even in France. Thomas Archbishop, set the
White sail between the grey sky and the bitter sea, leave us,
Leave us, leave us for France.
(I,p.182).

Not only are the Canterbury's women worried about the Archbishop's life
but also the three priests who appear in the Cathedral seem so sad and confident
that there would not be any reconciliation between Henry II 5 and Becket,
especially when the King and the Archbishop are compared by the third priest
to hammer and anvil respectively: "What piece can be found/To grow between
the hammer and the anvil" (I, p. 179)? The first priest is also worried about the
Archbishop's life, echoing the sorrowful words of the chorus: " Seven years and
the summer is over./ Seven years since the Archbishop left us," (I, p. 180). While
the second priest, unlike the other two priests, is happy and ready to welcome
the Archbishop without doubts:

Let us meet the Archbishop with cordial thanksgiving:

Our Lord, our Archbishop returns. And when the Archbishop
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returns
Our doubts are dispelled. Let us therefore rejoice,
I say rejoice, and show a glad face for his welcome.
I am the Archbishop's man. Let us give the Archbishop
welcome!
(I, p. 181)

Furthermore, the second priest criticizes the chorus of the women who
have worries about Becket's return. Thus he apologizes to the Archbishop for
the trivial hospitality immediately after his arrival at Canterbury:

O my Lord, forgive me, I did not see you coming,

Engrossed by the chatter of these foolish women.
Forgive us, my lord, you would have had a better welcome
If we had been sooner prepared for the event.
(I, p. 183)

As long as Becket is concerned, he himself expects his doom when he says in

his sermon to the congregation: "I do not think I shall ever preach to you again;
and because it is possible that in a short time you may have yet another martyr,
and that one perhaps not the last. I would have you keep in your hearts these
words that I say, and think of them at another time" (Interlude, p. 198).

The Interlude which is so called by Eliot is a sermon preached in the

Cathedral by the Archbishop on Christmas morning, 1170. It is delivered in
prose relating to Becket's conception of sainthood and martyrdom which cannot
be achieved through man's will, but only through God's will. Besides, the true
martyr is the instrument of God, who desires nothing for himself, not even
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martyrdom because: "It is never the design of man; for the true martyr is he
who has become the instrument of God, who has lost his will in the will of God,
and who no longer desires anything for himself, not even the glory of being a
martyr" (Interlude, p. 198).
It can be easily discerned that the sermon is so significant that it
determines the main psychological conflict in the play, which is Becket's
accomplishment of sainthood and martyrdom. The sermon also confirms the
prediction of the chorus of Canterbury women that Becket will meet his fate and
this is what really has happened when the Interlude is soon followed by the
murder scene; and it, as its name suggests, is a short period of time when an
activity or situation stops and something else occurs. The spectators are assured
throughout the Interlude that Becket has certainly rejected all the temptations
of the four tempters, and eventually he will end up as a martyr at the end of the
play. Thus, the Interlude paves the way for martyrdom which absurdly contains
both sorrow and delight in addition to death and immortality, or as Francis
Fergusson remarks: "Thomas's Christmas sermon … sets forth the timeless
theory of the paradox of martyrdom: Mourning and rejoicing, living and dying
in one: the bloody seed of the Church."6

The Canterbury women extremely venerate the Archbishop and in fact they
do not want to watch his impending murder and fail to take action to defend
him. In other words, they would not be "forced to bear witness" (I, p. 177) of his
homicide which they cannot prevent because for them it will be a sin if they
witness the assassination and stand by without trying to protect him. Therefore,
the poor women ask the Archbishop before his murder to apologize their
weakness which causes them to feel shame: "O Lord Archbishop, O Thomas
Archbishop, forgive us, forgive us, pray for us that we pray for you, out of our
shame" (II, p. 206).
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The poor women are not satisfied with the killing of the Archbishop and they
cannot help feeling sorry for the virtuous man because his murder will defile
everything in their country, calling indirectly their countrymen to prevent the
disaster: "The land is foul, the water is foul, our beasts / and ourselves defiled
with blood. / A rain of blood has blinded my eyes. Where is England? Where is
Kent? Where is Canterbury" (II, pp. 210-211)? They also warn that his killing
will not only contaminate themselves but also their country and the world as
well:

We are soiled by a filth that we cannot clean, united to

supernatural vermin,
It is not we alone; it is not the house, it is not the city that is
Defiled,
But the world that is wholly foul.
(II, p. 211)

The idea of filth after committing a sin finds its root in Eliot's thoughts
when he depicts the same idea in his poem The Waste Land (1922). Before
writing the poem Eliot is affected profoundly by the book From Ritual to
Romance (1920) written by Miss Jessie L. Weston (1850–1928). The work or
anthropology is notable for being acknowledged by Eliot himself in the notes to
his poem, The Waste Land: "Not only the title, but the plan and a good deal of
the incidental symbolism of the poem were suggested by Miss Jessie L. Weston's
book."7

Miss Weston's book supplied Eliot with the legend of the Grail and the
Fisher King. The holy Grail was the cup or plate used by the Prophet Jesus
Christ (peace be on him) for his last supper, in which Christ's sanctified blood
was later collected when he was crucified. The stream of the holy blood of Christ
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has flowed after a lance used to pierce the sides of his noble body. The Grail
legend "appears in various confusing forms in medieval literature, but it is
always concerned with a land which has been blighted by a curse,"8 this is why
the land is arid and waterless, producing neither animals nor vegetables. It was
said that the lost Grail was hidden in the Chapel Perilous in a country ruled by
the Fisher King. This country became dry and barren and its ruler became
sexually impotent as a result of sexual sins committed by the King and his
followers when they made sexual assaults on the chastity of a group of nuns
attached to the Grail chapel.9

However, the mythical Wasteland of the Fisher King symbolizes

contemporary decay and spiritual sterility. The sick King symbolizes the sick
humanity, and this sickness results from its sexual sins. It is a matter of fact that
sex is the source of life which has been denied, as in the case of the Fisher King
and his followers, its proper function when it has been graded to mere animal
copulation, and this sexual perversion has led to spiritual death. However,
spiritual health can be regained only through self-discipline, repentance,
penance, and suffering.10

By writing his drama, Eliot indirectly reminds his people of the glory of
their countrymen and advises them simultaneously to follow the way of God in
order to attain all goodness through their life in this mortal world.

The women confess the great sin of killing the innocent Becket committed
by the four knights as they say: "We acknowledge our trespass, our weakness,
our fault; we acknowledged" (II, p. 217). By saying so, the women regret having
given up the Archbishop due to their incapability and weakness. Besides, the
women go further to explain the catastrophe which befalls them as a result of
committing the sin when they say:
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That the sin of the world is upon our heads; that the blood
of the martyrs and the agony of the saints
is upon our heads.
(II, p. 217).

Eventually, the women's attitude is changed as they consider Becket's death

a blessing to them and his sacrifice was made for the sake of humanity. They
consider his murder a sacrifice, reminding them of Christ's martyrdom: "We
thank thee for Thy mercies of blood, for Thy redemption by blood. / For the
blood of Thy martyrs and saints/ Shall enrich the earth, shall create the holy
places" (II, p.217). They also regard the Archbishop's death as a blessing:
"Therefore, O God, we thank Thee/ Who has given such blessing to
Canterbury" (II, p. 217). This explains that the Canterbury women have some
association to religious procedures practiced in churches when such recitations
are usually presented by the priests, congregations and choirs.

The four tempters represent different views and attitudes which man faces
throughout his life. They speak of the illusion and frustration of man's days on
earth. The first tempter is the memory of old pleasures. He calls back to Becket's
mind the good old days when he was "Old Tom, gay Tom, Becket of London,"
the King's great confident friend. He reminds Thomas of the unbridled
gratifications he had once when he was younger:

Old Tom, gay Tom, Becket of London,

Your Lordship won't forget that evening on the river
When the King, and you and I were all friends together?
(I, p. 184)
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The first tempter also tells Becket that since he is on good terms with the
King, he must seize the opportunity and let everybody enjoy licentious life:

Now that the King and you are in amity,

Clergy and laity may return to gaiety,
Mirth and sportfulness need not walk warily.
(I, p. 184)

However, Becket cannot be fooled. One cannot "turn the wheel on which he
turns," (I, p. 185) he replies, sending the first tempter on his way.

The second tempter represents Beckett, the powerful Chancellor. He tells

Becket that he was a fool to resign the chancellorship, that power can bring
glory and fame even after death:

The Chancellorship that you resigned

When you were made Archbishop – that was a mistake
On your part – still may be regained. Think, my Lord,
Power obtained grows to glory,
Life lasting, a permanent possession.
(I, p. 186)

Once more Becket overcomes the temptations, rejecting such a choice as beneath
his dignity as a man of God, although such a defense now makes him vulnerable
to yield to pride and vanity and flattery as well.

The third tempter represents the blunt, reasonable side of Becket's nature.
After speaking ambiguously as any courtier, the tempter openly declares that
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reconciliation between Becket and Henry II is impossible. He is against the King,

tempting Becket to ally himself with Henry's enemy:

We are for England, we are in England.

You and I, my Lord, are Normans.
England is a land for Norman
Sovereignty. Let the Angevin
Destroy himself, fighting in Anjou.
He does not understand us, the English barons.
We are the people.
(I, p. 189)

Becket also rejects this temptation to commit treason for the sake of what may
be a greater good for both himself and for England.

The fourth tempter represents the worst temptations of all: one's own
desires – to be true to oneself but to neglect God as the source of one's being and
action. Thus, the fourth tempter represents the Devil as he tempts Becket to
spiritual pride by attaining martyrdom through suffering and personal will not
by the will of God:

But think, Thomas, think of glory after death.

When King is dead, there's another King,
And one more King is another reign.
King is forgotten, when another shall come:
Saint and martyr rule from the tomb.
(I, p. 191)
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Becket refuses all the previous temptations especially the fourth tempter
who keeps tempting the Archbishop by telling him: "Seek the way of
martyrdom, make yourself the lowest/ On earth, to be high in heaven" (I, p.
192). Nevertheless the fourth tempter allows Becket to realize that even
becoming a martyr can be regarded as an act of vanity and pride "to do the
right deed for the wrong reason," (I, p. 195) not for God's glory but for one's
own even if that glory then seems but to serve God.

It is noteworthy to mention that the first priest from the early beginning has
been worried for not only Becket but also for the Church which represents
religion. Thus he warns Becket of being proud because pride as a psychological
disease may cause his downfall:

I fear for Archbishop. I fear for the Church.

I know that the pride bred of sudden prosperity
Was but confirmed by bitter adversity.
(I, p. 180).

On the other hand, Becket overcomes the four tempters that represent the
dilemma in his mind and decides to take the risk by fighting his self- desires to
be a true martyr "who has lost his will in the will of God, and who no longer
desires anything for himself, not even the glory of being a martyr." (Interlude,
p. 198). Ruby Cohn and Bernard Dukore compare the Archbishop temptations
to those of Christ in the desert: "Thomas's temptations resemble those of Christ
in the desert – sensual appetite, divinity, and martyrdom."11

As soon as the fourth tempter finishes speaking to Becket, the priests

express their fear, warning the Archbishop not to "sail the irresistible wind". (I,
p. 194). Furthermore, the combined priests jointly warn Becket of the knights by
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asking him to go inside the Cathedral. The chorus and the priests conclude with
a plea to the Archbishop to save himself; if he is destroyed, they will also be
destroyed:

My Lord, they are coming. They will break through presently.

You will be killed. Come to the alter.
Make haste, my Lord. Don't stop here talking. It is not right.
What shall become of us, my lord, if you are killed; what shall
Become of us?
(I, p. 207)
Besides, they keep on warning Becket of the four knights, describing them as
irritated animals:

My Lord! These are not men, these come not as men come,
but
Like maddened beasts. They come not like men, who
respect the sanctuary, who kneel the body of Christ,
But like Beasts.
(II, p. 209)

Becket's impending murder is compared to winter because: "Winter shall

come bringing death from the sea" (I, p. 178). His inevitable end is also
predicted by the shrieks of the owl: "The owl rehearses the hollow note of
death" (II, p.199). Nevertheless his death in winter will make a change as things
will be better, causing fertility and rebirth in other seasons: "And the world
must be cleaned in the winter, or we shall have only / A sour spring, a parched
summer, an empty harvest" (II, p. 199). Once again the image of change and
continuation of time is symbolized by the turning wheel. Therefore the third
priest says:
Jornal of Al-Turath Univeresity College Issue.19 ___ (91)

For good or ill, let the wheel turn.

The wheel has been still, these seven years, and no good.
For ills or god, let the wheel turn.
For who knows the end of good or evil?
(I, p. 181)
The chorus first laments the change of the seasons marking the end of
autumn with its golden apples, and then the arrival of winter brings death and
inactivity with it:

Since golden October declined into sombre November

And the apples were gathered and stored, and the land became
brown sharp points of death in a waste of water and mud,
The New Year waits, breathes, waits, whispers in darkness.
While the labourer kicks off a muddy boots and stretches his
hand to the fire,
The New Year waits, destiny waits for the coming.
(I, p. 177).

With the approaching of the knights, the priests anxiously urge Becket to
seek the sanctuary of the alter. In their terror the priests call for the doors to be
barred in an attempt to secure the lives of the Archbishop and themselves,
thinking that the knights would not dare to break in the doors of the Cathedral.
The priests' action does not satisfy Becket who bids them to open the doors,
believing that the Church will protect her own. The priests protest, telling
Becket that these men (the knights) are rather beasts who have no respect for
the sanctuary:

My Lord! These are not men, these come not as men come,
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But
Like maddened beasts….
You would bar the door
Against the lion, the leopard, the wolf or the boar,
Why not more
Against beast with souls of damned men, against men
Who would damn themselves to beasts. My Lord! My Lord!
(II, p. 209)

Becket's reply indicates his acceptance of God's will. He is prepared to place the
Law of God above the Law of Man. However all the priests' recent doubts are
achieved as the four knights break in and close in on the Archbishop and slay
him.
The play is not about Becket's murder, but about the great values of
martyrdom. Becket does not do great actions and he seems from the early
beginning of the drama to follow a predestined way to God. The play is a study
in the religious and philosophical attitudes of martyrdom. The spilling of the
martyr's blood is also a redemption of mankind: "For the blood of Thy martyrs
and saints / Shall enrich the earth, shall create the holy places" (II, p. 216), and
increase fertility and decrease beastly actions among men.

The tempters and priests are nameless characters probably because Eliot
wants to focus specifically on the character of Becket, so that the reader or the
spectator can discern his conflict. The critics S. Marion Tucker and Alan S.
Downer do not appreciate the anonymity of some characters because it takes the
play to the spiritual world removing it from the human boundaries: "The
necessary anonymity of all save the central character (as an expressionistic
device) tends to cast a chill over the play, to abstract its human appeal in favour
of intellectual debate."12
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Throughout the events of the play, the elements of suspense and surprise are
weak because the spectators are previously informed about what happened and
what will happen through the chorus, the priests, the tempters and the
messenger. Furthermore, most of the spectators themselves previously know a
great deal about Becket's murder before they watch the play. As Denis
Donoghue remarks: "The broad outlines of the plot, as in Aeschylus, are known
to the audience before the play begins. The first audience at Canterbury in 1935
knew at least that Thomas Becket became a Christian martyr some hundreds of
years before."13 Nevertheless, it is significant to say that despite the advanced
knowledge of the subject-matter of the play, this knowledge may increase the
spectators' interest at the same time. To this effect Raymond Williams remarks:
"It is not simply that the story of the martyrdom of Becket was already almost
universally known, although this strengthened the invitation to participation."14

The play is written mostly in verse which has been adapted to some extent to
modern use despite that the play apparently belongs to the medieval dramatic
tradition, as Haskell M. Block and Robert G. Shedd put it: "T.S. Eliot's Murder
in the Cathedral (1935) revives the mystery and spirituality of the drama of the
medieval church in the accents of the twentieth century."15

The drama is successful since it has been produced in 1935. It is the most
representative modern religious drama as Gerald Weales points out:
Murder in the Cathedral became the first successful modern
religious play. From Canterbury, it went to the Mercury
theatre in London and then, a year later, it was revived at the
Duchess Theatre. It has become the staple of the most ambitious
religious and university drama groups, in the United States as
well as in England."16
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However, the play differs from the Greek tragedy whose events are usually
destined by fate while man is deprived of free will. Here although destiny is
shaped by God's will, there is still man's free will. Becket has kicked the worldly
things down as he refuses to be a Chancellor and an Archbishop simultaneously
and does not yield to all kinds of temptations. He neither wants to spend all the
remainder of his life in France although it is safer to him than England, nor does
he listen to the request of the chorus and priests to stay away from danger.
However, three years after his murder, Becket was officially canonized as a
martyr by the Roman Catholic Church.
Notes

1- Thomas Becket (/ˈbɛkɪt/; also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, (1118–

1170) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He
is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the
Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II of England over
the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the
king in Canterbury Cathedral.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas Becket.
2- Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent is one of the oldest and most

famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage

Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the
Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican
Communion. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of
Christ at Canterbury. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Cathedral.
3- Frederick Lumley, Trends in Twentieth Century Drama: A Survey since Ibsen

and Shaw (Fair Lawn, N.J. : Essential Books. Inc., 1965). P. 84.
4- T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral, ed. Ruby Cohn and Bernard Dukore,

Twentieth Century Drama: England, Ireland, The United States (New York:
Random House, 1966), I, p. 177. Subsequent references to this addition will
appear in my text.
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5- Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), was the King of England who ruled it

from 1154 to 1189. Henry's desire to reform the relationship with the Church
led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of
Canterbury. This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s and resulted in
Becket's murder in 1170. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England.
6- Francis Fergusson. The Idea of a Theatre: A Study of Ten Plays – The Art of

Drama in Changing Perspective (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,

1968), p. 212.
7- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Ritual_to_Romance.

8- Elizabeth Drew T.S. Eliot The Design Of His Poetry (New York, Charles

Scribner's Sons, 1949), p. 60.

9- Raghukul Tilak T. S. Eliot-The Waste Land and other Poems , A Critical

Assessment (New Delhi: Rama Brothers, 2011), p. 130.

10- Ibid.

11- Ruby Cohn and Bernard Dukore, "Thomas Stearns Eliot (1885-1965)," in

Ruby Cohn and Bernard Dukore, eds., Twentieth Century Drama: England,
Ireland, the United States (New York: Random House, 1966), p. 173.
12- S. Marion Tucker and Alan S. Downer, "T. S. Eliot: Murder in the

Cathedral," in S. Marion Tucker and Alan S. Downer, 1953), p.881.

13- Denis Donoghue, The Third Voice: Modern British and American Verse Drama

(Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1959), p. 79.

14- Raymond Williams, Drama from Ibsen to Brecht (London: Chatto and

Winds, 1971), p. 179.

15- Haskell M. Block and Robert G. Shedd, "General Introduction" to Baskell

M. Block and Robert G. Shedd, eds., Masters of Modern Drama (New York:
Random House, 1962), p.6.
16- Gerald Weales, Religion in Modern English Drama (Philadelphia: University

of Pennsylvania Press, 1961), pp. 193-194.