Introduction:
The Nobel Prize
winner poet, critic and dramatist Thomas
Stearns Eliot (1888-1965)
is one of the most highly-acclaimed literary figures of the modern English
literature. He is best known by his poems ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’
and ‘The Wasteland’. His poems are typically centered on the theme of
disappointment and emptiness of World War I. As a dramatist, Eliot is known for
his classic plays like ‘The Cocktail party’, ‘Murder in the Cathedral’, ‘Cats’,
‘The Rock’, etc.
‘Murder in the
Cathedral’
His most successful verse/poetic drama is ‘Murder
in the Cathedral’. It was first performed in 1935 during the yearly Canterbury
Festival. It expresses a religious story projecting a Christian idea of
martyrdom. The title and content of the play deals with the theme of martyrdom
of Saint Thomas Becket.
Becket’s Early Life & Final Martyrdom:
In his early life, Thomas Becket and King Henry II
were intimate friends but when Becket was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury,
he started rebelling against the King’s authority and power. This brought a tension
in their friendship and cordial ties. Becket fled to France for seven years and returned to England to embrace his fate. The
play begins with Becket’s return to England and ends with his life sacrificed
in the name of God.
Central Theme of Martyrdom:
The central
theme of ‘Murder in the Cathedral’ is martyrdom.
Becket & Christian Concept of Martyrdom:
Martyrdom means
the act of suffering and death of a martyr for a noble cause. A martyr is
someone who has sacrificed their life for the cause of God and Jesus. According
to Catholic theory, there are three characteristics of a martyr.
1. He should sacrifice his life and accept death.
2. Death is trust upon his due to hatred for Christian
life and truth.
3. He should voluntarily accept death to defend
Christian life, religion and truth.
4. His life and death cleanses the world of the evils
and sins.
All these qualities are well reflected in the character
of Saint Thomas Becket. He sacrifices his life, death is trust upon him by the
four Knights, he willingly surrenders to them and his last sermon before his
death spreads the message to the world.
The theme of the play is that whenever the sins of the
world abound beyond limits, whenever people show spiritual apathy, there is
always one (who is the incarnation of Jesus Christ) who comes to purify the cruelties.
He frees the world from sins and establishes the significance of the church. In
‘Bhagwad Geeta’ too, Lord Krishna delivers a similar message:
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥४-७॥
Becket goes against the cruelties of King Henry II and
his final death as presented in the play also re-establishes faith among the
people.
Here, Eliot has avoided the idea of presenting personal
conflict. The conflict between Becket and King Henry II is actually a conflict
between good and evil. There is no action presented in the play. In fact, the
true action and drama takes place in the mind of Becket. He transforms from the
world of material power and pleasure into the world of divinity and spiritual
glory and wins over the element of evil by his martyrdom. This idea is
reflected in the words of Chorus at the end.
“We thank Thee for the 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.”
Three Conventions:
Eliot has used three different conventions to express the theme of
martyrdom and its importance in Christianity.
1. Chorus: Following the classical tradition, Eliot has used the device of Chorus in
the beginning and at the end of the play which unleashes the message of
Christianity. Mark these last words of Chorus at the end:
“For whenever a saint has dwelt,
Whenever a martyr has given his blood
For the blood of Christ
There is holy ground and
The sanctity shall not depart from it.”
2. Interlude: After Part 1, Becket delivers
a long sermon to the people present in the cathedral. He knows that this is
going to be his last sermon before the Knights come and kill him. He urges
people to follow the path of truth and Christian life. This sermon also
advances the theme of martyrdom.
3. Four
Tempters: The four tempters try to tempt Becket to adopt the worldly life, material
pleasure, power and glory. But he refuses them all and establishes the victory
of spiritual life over the material life. This scene also projects and
strengthens the theme of
martyrdom.
Conclusion:
Thus, martyrdom, sainthood and Christian life certainly constitute the
theme of the play. ‘Murder in the Cathedral’ should not be regarded just as a
dramatization of Becket’s murder. Rather it should be studied as a conflict
between the worldly and spiritual power wherein the victory of the spiritual
power is presented by the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket.
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