Becket

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1959

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Summary

Act Summaries & Analyses

Act I

Act II

Act III

Act IV

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Marching tune

Becket repeatedly whistles a marching song offstage. Audiences first hear him whistling a “gay, ironical Scottish marching song” (3) during the transition from the first scene to the flashback. He does so again just before entering the camp in Act II, and then he whistles an “old English marching song” (64) as he changes into his monk’s robe at the end of Act II. The whistled tune suggests Becket’s cheerful, gallant nature at the beginning of the play as a man of politics and war, then his cool nonchalance and devotion to duty after becoming a man of God. The marching tune serves as a link between Becket’s secular and sacred careers, indicating that even as archbishop he sees himself as a “soldier” in the service of a higher cause.

Gold dishes

In Act I, Becket tells the King that he has bought golden dishes from Italy for use at his dinner table. He explains that he is “setting a new fashion” (6) and asks the King to “christen” the new dishes for him. The dishes, more expensive than the ones the King himself uses, symbolize Becket’s life of luxury and pleasure. Later, after becoming archbishop, Becket sells the dishes and reverts to wooden platters and earthenware bowls, which he uses to serve food to beggars at his home. The switch from the expensive dishes to the plain ones symbolizes Becket’s change from a worldly, self-indulgent lifestyle to one of simplicity and charity.

Royal seal

When the King makes Becket Chancellor of England in Act I, he gives him the royal seal, which depicts three lions. Becket remarks soon afterward that the seal symbolizes that his first loyalty is to England. However, after becoming archbishop, Becket invokes the seal as a protection of his own rights: “You gave me your Seal to keep, my prince. And the Three Lions of England which are engraved on it keep watch over me too” (36). Although the King regards the seal merely as a mark of loyalty to him, Becket implies that the seal symbolizes the higher law that all human beings, including the King, must obey.

Knife

The young monk is captured with a knife on his person. He claims it is a kitchen implement, but Becket guesses correctly that it was meant as a weapon to assassinate the King. The young monk is seen later playing with a knife as Becket prays; he throws it on the floor and watches it quiver (94). The knives symbolize the young monk’s violent zeal to overthrow the Normans and the violent death Becket will suffer.

Becket’s clothes

In the early scenes, Becket wears the expensive and fashionable attire of a courtier. After becoming archbishop, he changes—onstage, behind a curtain—into a “monk’s coarse woolen robe” (64). This change of costume symbolizes Becket’s change of character and mission, as he now devotes himself to defending the honor of God rather than the glory of the King and his court. However, Becket realizes that his ascetic appearance might be a temptation to pride, so he again dons his visually splendid archbishop’s costume, miter, and silver cross. In his final scene, he is putting on his priestly vestments to say Mass.

Becket’s costume changes illustrate his spiritual journey: He goes from a life of pleasure and worldly success to one of charity and asceticism; finally, he realizes that he can integrate these values into his role as archbishop. Audiences finally see him in the guise of a priest sacrificing his life to God.