“Murder in the Cathedral” by T. S. Eliot Essay

Murder in the Cathedral is a verse gaming by T. S. Eliot that portrays the assassination of Archbishop doubting Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, beginning performed in 1935. Eliot drew heavily on the writing of Edward Grim, a clerk who was an eyewitness to the event. The play, dealing with an individuals opposition to authority, was written at the time of rising Fascism in Central Europe, and can be taken as a protest to individuals in affected countries to oppose the Nazi regimes subversion of the ideals of the Christian Church.1 Some material that the producer asked Eliot to remove or replace during the writing was transformed into the poem fire Norton.2The action occurs between December 2 and December 29, 1170, chronicling the days wind up to the martyrdom of Thomas Becket following his absence of seven old age in France. Beckets internal struggle is the main focus of the play. The concord is divided into two parts. Part one takes place in the Archbishop Tho mas Beckets hall on December 2, 1170. The play begins with a let out singing, foreshadowing the coming violence. The Chorus is a key part of the drama, with its phonate changing and developing during the play, offering comments about the action and providing a yoke between the audience and the characters and action, as in Greek drama.Three priests be present, and they reflect on the absence of Becket and the rise of temporal power. A omen announces Beckets arrival. Becket is immediately reflective about his coming martyrdom, which he embraces, and which is mute to be a sign of his own selfishnesshis fatal weakness. The tempters arrive, three of whom correspond the Temptations of Christ. The first tempter offers the prospect of physical safety.Take a friends advice. Leave well alone,Or your goose may be cooked and eaten to the bone.The heartbeat offers power, riches and fame in serving the King.To set down the great, protect the poor, downstairs the throne of God can man do more?The ternary tempter suggests a coalition with the barons and a chance to resist the King.For us, Church opt would be an advantage,Blessing of Pope powerful protectionIn the shake up for liberty. You, my Lord,In being with us, would fight a good strokeFinally, a fourth tempter urges him to undertake the glory of martyrdom. You hold the keys of heaven and hell.Power to prevail and loose bind, Thomas, bind,King and bishop under your heel.King, emperor, bishop, baron, kingBecket responds to all of the tempters and specifically addresses the degenerate suggestions of the fourth tempter at the end of the first act Now is my port clear, now is the meaning plainTemptation shall not come in this kind again.The last temptation is the greatest treasonTo do the rectify deed for the wrong reason.The Interlude of the play is a disquisition devoted by Becket on Christmas morning 1170. It is about the strange contradiction that Christmas is a day both of mourning and rejoicing, whi ch Christians also do for martyrs. He announces at the end of his sermon, it is possible that in a short time you may have yet another martyr. We see in the sermon something of Beckets ultimate peace of mind, as he elects not to seek sainthood, but to accept his death as inevitable and part of a better whole. Part II of the play takes place in the Archbishops Hall and in the Cathedral, December 29, 1170. Four knights arrive with Urgent task from the king. These knights had heard the king speak of his frustration with Becket, and had interpreted this as an launch to kill Becket. They accuse him of betrayal, and he claims to be loyal.He tells them to accuse him in public, and they make to attack him, but priests intervene. The priests insist that he leave and protect himself, but he refuses. The knights leave and Becket again says he is ready to die. The refrain sings that they knew this conflict was coming, that it had long been in the fabric of their lives, both temporal and spir itual. The chorus again reflects on the coming devastation. Thomas is taken to the Cathedral, where the knights break in and kill him. The chorus laments Clean the air Clean the sky, and The estate is foul, the water is foul, our beasts and ourselves defiled with blood. At the close of the play, the knights step up, address the audience, and symbolise their actions. The murder was all right and for the best it was in the right spirit, sober, and confirm so that the churchs power would not undermine stableness and state power.