Murder in the Cathedral is a ritualistic play by T.S Eliot, where he portrays the conflicting beliefs between religion and secularism of that time. It is based on an actual incident in the year 1170 when Thomas Becket was accused of being a traitor to King Henry II and murdered. This play stands out in its time because it was written in a blank verse, and Chorus was added, which was very uncommon then.
The Chorus consisted of women lamenting how their Archbishop left for France and has not returned for seven years. They know that if he comes back, things will get worse, so he is better off away. They also complain about the misery they had to face here, and the Archbishop's return will complicate things. Religion parties suffered the most under a secular system, so Thomas wanted death/martyrdom, as their lives would be made a living hell here.
For Becket, martyrdom is the ultimate way of getting God's acquaintance. He aims to submit his soul and life to his religion no matter what. Although it took some time for Becket to gain wisdom and consider the true purpose behind martyrdom, he achieved it at the play's end. His views about being a Christian Martyr are different in both parts. The Chorus, the priests, and the knights play an essential role in developing this concept.
At the very beginning of the play, the Chorus is worried for
Thomas Becket that if he plans to return, he will not be left to live a
harmonious life but rather killed. After that, when the herald informs the
priests that Thomas Becket is coming back, they are worried for him. They ask
the herald about his expression and how he has been, to which he responds,
"Peace,
but not the kiss of peace. A patched-up affair, if you ask my opinion." which emphasizes that he
was ready to face whatever his fate holds for him. He was too proud of his
faith and believed nothing mattered to him anymore about this temporary world.
He was happy to face death, achieve the glory of martyrdom, and enter the world
of eternal happiness.
Amidst all this, he came across four tempters. That was the part
where he realized how wrong his belief was. The first three temptations give
him different alternatives to how he should deal with the situation, but the
fourth one gives him the purpose Becket truly wanted deep in his heart. It was
glory, getting murdered for admiration. The tempter showed him how he was
better than all those despicable kings and how they would face damnation. He
tells him that by attaining martyrdom, he will be remembered forever. People
would come to his tomb to honor and pray to him, achieving glory after death.
The fourth tempter made him realize that this was the core purpose of wanting
death. This is why he came back and was less concerned about his life. This
encounter with the fourth tempter made him realize that he has to correct his
intentions to achieve the true purpose behind his sacrifice. "The last
temptation is the greatest treason / To do the right thing for the wrong
reason."
After he has realized that whatever happens, happens according
to God's will and He decides where his fate will lead him, his beliefs become
stronger. In his sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, he brings forth the idea that
martyrdom should be celebrated and mourned. "we both rejoice
and mourn in the death of martyrs." He says that we mourn
the death of good people at the hands of evil, but we are happy that they
sacrificed their lives for God and would be considered among the Saints in
heaven. At the end of the sermon, he also predicts his death by being a martyr,
and he would not be the last. There will be many more who will happily
sacrifice their life for the Glory of God. "It is possible that
you may have yet another martyr in a short time, and that one perhaps not the
last."
At the end of the play, we see how knights tend to explain why they killed the Archbishop and how he was already desperate to die. They consider him a traitor. Every knight explained his reason for killing him, and the fourth one considered it a suicide instead of murder, as Becket himself wanted death. "He had determined upon a death by martyrdom."
