Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama
Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama: Murder in the Cathedral, poetic drama in two parts, with a
prose sermon interlude, the most successful play by American English poet T.S.
Eliot. The play was performed at Canterbury Cathedral in 1935 and published the
same year. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Set in December 1170, it is a modern miracle play on the martyrdom
of St. Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury.
Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama: The play’s most striking feature is the use of a chorus in
the Classical Greek manner. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama The poor women of Canterbury who make up the chorus
nervously await Thomas’s return from his seven-year exile, fretting over his
volatile relationship with King Henry II. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Thomas arrives and must resist four
temptations: worldly pleasures, lasting power as chancellor, recognition as a
leader of the barons against the king, and eternal glory as a martyr.
Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama: St. Thomas Becket, also called Thomas à Becket or Thomas of
London, (born c. 1118, Cheapside, London, England—died December 29, 1170,
Canterbury, Kent; canonized 1173; feast day December 29), chancellor of England
(1155–62) and archbishop of Canterbury (1162–70) during the reign of King Henry
II. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama His career was marked by a long quarrel with Henry that ended with Becket’s
murder in Canterbury Cathedral. He is venerated as a saint and martyr in the
Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion. He is a patron saint of
secular clergy (priests and deacons who serve pastorally in parishes).
Early life and career
Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama: Thomas was born to Norman parents of the merchant class. He
was educated first at the Augustinian Merton Priory, then in a London school,
and finally at Paris. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Deeply influenced in childhood by a devout mother who
died when he was 21, Thomas entered adult life as a city clerk and accountant
in the service of the sheriffs. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama After three years he was introduced by his
father to Archbishop Theobald, a former abbot of Bec, of whose household he
became a member. His colleagues were a distinguished company that included the
political philosopher John of Salisbury, the Roman lawyer Vacarius, and several
future bishops, including Roger of Pont l’Évêque, later archbishop of York. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Thomas won Theobald’s confidence, acted as his agent, and was sent by him to
study civil and canon law at Bologna and Auxerre.
Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama: His contemporaries described Thomas as a tall and spare
figure with dark hair and a pale face that flushed in excitement. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama His memory
was extraordinarily tenacious and, though neither a scholar nor a stylist, he
excelled in argument and repartee. He made himself agreeable to all around him,
and his biographers attest that he led a chaste life—in this respect
uninfluenced by the king.
As chancellor
Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama: In 1154 Theobald, as a reward of his services, appointed
Thomas archdeacon of Canterbury, an important and lucrative post, and less than
three months later recommended him to Henry as chancellor. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Here Thomas showed
to the full his brilliant abilities, razing castles, repairing the Tower of
London, conducting embassies, and raising and leading troops in war. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Trusted
completely by the king, Thomas was compared by a biographer to Joseph under
Pharaoh. To Henry himself Thomas was a welcome companion and intimate friend,
both at court and in the chase, aiding the king in his policy of gathering all
power into the hands of the monarchy, even when that policy went against claims
of the church. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Thomas, older than Henry by 15 years and celibate, may well have
felt, at least initially, a quasi-paternal or elder-brother affection, mingled
with admiration for Henry’s talents and charm. He must also have enjoyed the
satisfaction of moving in a rank of society to which he had not been born.
Henry’s attitude is less easy to identify, but the efficiency and intelligence
of Thomas must have recommended him to a king surrounded by uneducated and at times
truculent barons.
Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama: Whether Becket was fully satisfied with his life as
chancellor is another matter. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Throughout his life Thomas gave with prodigality
and acted with panache. The description of the procession of men, beasts, and
carriages laden with objects of luxury that accompanied him as envoy to Paris
in 1158 is one of the highlights of William FitzStephen’s Life of Saint Thomas
(c. 1170). Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama This, and his customary splendour of clothing and furnishings,
suited ill with his status as archdeacon. More serious in the eyes of
contemporaries was his refusal to surrender his archdeaconry while neglecting
its duties, and his extraction of scutage (payment in lieu of military service)
at a high rate from ecclesiastical fiefs. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Most serious to modern minds is his failure
to visit the disapproving and dying Theobald when summoned. In general, there
can be no doubt that in public affairs he was the king’s man, even when Henry
endeavoured to reassert what he claimed to be his ancestral rights.
Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama: Meanwhile, the great movement known as the Gregorian Reform
had spread from Italy to France and the Holy Roman Empire and had begun to
influence English churchmen. In its program, free elections to clerical posts,
inviolability of church property, freedom of appeal to Rome, and clerical
immunity from lay tribunals were leading points. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Under Henry I and Stephen, the
archbishops had stood out for these reforms, sometimes with partial success.
Henry II, however, undoubtedly aimed at a complete return to the practice of
Henry I, who had strict control over the church. He had begun to press his
claims, and his chancellor had aided him. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama With the death of Theobald in 1161,
Henry hoped to appoint Thomas as archbishop and thus complete his program.
Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama: For almost a year after the death of Theobald, the see of
Canterbury was vacant. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Thomas was aware of the king’s intention and tried to
dissuade him by warnings of what would happen. Henry persisted and Thomas was
elected. Once consecrated, Thomas changed both his outlook and his way of life.
He became devout and austere and embraced the integral program of the papacy
and its canon law. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama This spectacular change has baffled historians, and several
explanations have been attempted: that Thomas was intoxicated by his ambition
to dominate or that he threw himself, as before, into a part he had agreed to
play. It is simpler to suppose that he accepted at last the spiritual
obligations he had ignored as chancellor and turned into a new channel his
mingled energy, force of character, impetuosity, and ostentation. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Greatly to
Henry’s displeasure, he immediately resigned the chancellorship but clung to
the archdeaconry until forced by the king to resign. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama Henry had been in Normandy
since August 1158, and on his return in January 1163 Thomas began the struggle
by opposing a tax proposal and excommunicating a leading baron. More serious
was his attitude in the matter of “criminous clerks.” In western Europe,
accused clerics for long had enjoyed the privilege of standing trial before the
bishop rather than secular courts and usually received milder punishments than
lay courts would assess. In England before the Norman Conquest this was still
the custom. If found guilty in an ecclesiastical court, clerics could be
degraded or exiled but were not liable to death or mutilation. For 60 years
after the Norman Conquest, little is heard of clerical crime or its punishment,
while on the Continent Gregorian reformers were tending to emphasize the sole
right of the church to try and punish clerks in major orders. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama The position of Thomas,
that a guilty clerk could be degraded and punished by the bishop but should not
be punished again by lay authority—“not twice for the same fault”—was
canonically arguable and ultimately prevailed. Henry’s contention that clerical
crime was rife and that it was encouraged by the absence of drastic penalties
commends itself to modern readers as a fair one. But it must be remembered that
the king’s motives were authoritarian and administrative rather than
enlightened. Nevertheless, it may be thought that Thomas was ill-advised in his
rigid stand on this point. Murder in the Cathedral as a poetic drama The issue was joined in a council at Westminster
(October 1163), but the crisis came at Clarendon (Wiltshire, January 1164),
when the king demanded a global assent to all traditional royal rights, reduced
to writing under 16 heads and known as the Constitutions of Clarendon. These
asserted the king’s right to punish criminous clerks, forbade excommunication
of royal officials and appeals to Rome, and gave the king the revenues of
vacant sees and the power to influence episcopal elections. Henry was justified
in saying that these rights had been exercised by Henry I, but Thomas also was
justified in maintaining that they contravened church law. Thomas, after
verbally accepting the Constitutions of Clarendon, revoked his assent and
appealed to the pope, then in France, who supported him while deprecating
precipitate action.
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