43 pages • 1 hour read
T. S. EliotMurder in the Cathedral
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1935A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 2, Scene 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2, Scene 1 Summary
Part 2 of Murder in the Cathedral takes place on December 29, 1170. The chorus enters the Archbishop’s Hall and bemoans the seemingly constant suffering in the world, recognizing few reasons for hope. The world is an “uncertain” (53) place, with humanity far removed from the peace of God. The chorus asserts that the world is being ruined by war and a fading religiosity. The women are waiting for change, though the time in which change may happen is fading rapidly.
Four knights enter and speak to the first priest, claiming to have “urgent business” (55). The King of England has sent them to talk to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first priest suggests that the knights sit down to dine with Becket, but the knights have no interest in such frivolities. They want to speak to Becket right away. Becket enters and welcomes them. He tells the priests that no one can truly predict when moments such as these will arrive . The knights dismiss the priests so that they can speak to Becket alone. They accuse him of being “in rebellion to the King and the law of the land” (56) and claim that he is duty-bound to obey the king’s orders. They insist that he has lied to the king and cheated him, overstepping the bounds of the archbishop’s authority.
Becket refutes this claim and insists that he is loyal to the king and to the country. He asks the knights whether they have a deeper agenda or whether they have simply come to reprimand him. The knights confess that they have something else to say, and Becket suggests that if the message was sent by the king, it should be heard by all. He vows to deny any charges they make against him. The knights move to attack Becket, but the priests and their attendants return.
The knights launch into an accusation against Thomas Becket. The first knight says that Becket fled the country and traveled to France to spread malicious rumors about King Henry II in front of the King of France and the Pope. King Henry, the second knight says, has charitably offered clemency to Becket in spite of these terrible crimes. The fourth knight says that Becket has refused this clemency with further attempts to sow discord. He also claims that Becket refused to acknowledge the coronation of King Henry’s son as legal.
Becket insists that he never intended to offend the king and reiterates his admiration for King Henry and the crown; he claims to have simply followed the orders from the Pope. The first knight accepts Becket’s explanation but insists that Becket and his servants “depart from this land” (61). Becket does not want to be separated from his congregation, and the first knight claims that Becket is insulting the King by refusing to obey the royal command. Becket responds that he is merely obeying a power higher than the King: the Pope, as the representative of God. Becket tells the knights that if they kill him, he will ascend to heaven and present himself before the throne of God. The knights grumble and prepare to leave, threatening the priests on their way out.
The knights exit and, the chorus returns and delivers a long speech about “the death-bringers” (63) and the looming specter of martyrdom that hangs over Becket. His imminent death has enhanced their perception of death in the natural world. The chorus tells Becket that they have submitted to fate and accept that they cannot control what will happen. They ask Becket to accept his martyrdom and to forgive their ignorance when they asked him to leave England. Becket asks them to be at peace.
The knights return, but the priests have barricaded the doors to the Archbishop’s Hall and urge Becket to hide as the knights try to force their way inside. Becket refuses to hide. He has waited his whole life for this moment. The priests ask what will happen to him if he dies. Becket believes that only way to defend the law of God is to meet death gladly, and he wants to do so now. The priests ignore Becket’s request and drag him away into hiding.
The chorus is upset that the inevitable death of Thomas Becket will drag them into a confrontation with a spiritual truth: one which Becket previously helped them to understand and avoid. Without Becket, the chorus fears that their souls will be exposed. They pray for guidance in dealing with Becket’s death.
Part 2, Scene 1 Analysis
After Becket’s sermon in the Interlude, Part 2 resumes the same dramatic form as Part 1. The Interlude marks Becket’s moment of acceptance, in which he moves beyond the vanities and the glories of martyrdom to accept his fate. By this point, the temptations of Part 1 are behind him, and the moment of his death is set to arrive. Becket demonstrates his readiness to die, and he wishes to cast open the doors to the cathedral in a physical challenge to the knights, who must cross the threshold of the cathedral and break the rites of sanctuary in order to complete their murderous goal. By opening the cathedral doors, Becket signifies his acceptance of his fate and informs the knights that they must cross a moral line if they wish to bring about his death.
As avatars of violence and immorality, the knights harass the priests and threaten Becket, accusing him of betraying his country and his king. The nature of their challenge reiterates the play’s focus on The Conflict between Earthly and Spiritual Concerns, for they specifically claim to be acting in the name of earthly powers, and in doing so, they offend the religious powers of the church. The four knights are heavily armed and offensively mannered, and the contrast between their demeanor and Becket’s is made plain as they callously challenge him. On stage, they are portrayed as bullies, and the serenity of the archbishop contrasts sharply with their rough, uncouth nature. Ironically, although they are stronger and better armed than Becket, their insistence upon urging him to surrender reveals their weakness and their doubt. Likewise, although they claim to be acting in the name of the king, they shun public scrutiny, hassling Becket with violent demands. The contrast between the weak, immoral knights and the calm, Christian Becket stands as the play’s greatest condemnation of secular power, for while Becket’s religious power is assured and serene, the knights’ earthly power is insecure and meek.
Even more so than Becket, the chorus emerges as the dominant voice in Part 2 of the play, for the women express the most pessimistic view of the spiritual impact of Becket’s martyrdom, but they are nonetheless resigned to his fate. Because the chorus consists of a collective of women in medieval England, Eliot also suggests that their resignation stems from the fact that they have grown used to their disenfranchisement in every scenario. The learned pessimism of their social status means that they have the most to lose from Becket’s death, but they also feel that there is nothing that they can do to prevent this calamity from occurring. However, they accept Becket’s guidance and gradually come to support his position even as their lamentations grow more intense.
Related Titles
By T. S. Eliot
