T.S. Eliot's 'Murder in the Cathedral'

Some selected quotations from T.S. Eliot’s play ‘Murder in the Cathedral’:

“For the good times past, that are come again
I am your man.” (First Tempter)

“To man of God what gladness?” (Becket)

“Shall I who ruled among the doves as an eagle
Now take the shape of wolf among wolves.” (Becket)

“King is forgotten when another shall come
Saints and Martyrs rule from the tomb.” (Fourth Tempter)

“Is there no enduring crown to be won
Is there no way in my soul’s sickness
That does not lead to damnation” (Becket)


Here’s what expert critics have to say about the play ‘Murder in the Cathedral’.

Nevill Coghill: “Murder in the Cathedral is about a situation and a quality of life; the situation is perpetual and the quality is rare.”

Helen Gardener: “The central theme of the play is martyrdom and martyrdom in its strict ancient sense.”

David and Jones: “The play is not just a dramatization of death but a deep searching study of the significance of martyrdom.”

Here are some opinions about the role of chorus in the play:
Eliot: “The chorus has always fundamentally the same uses. It mediates between the action and the audience. It intensifies the action, we as audience see it doubly by seeing its effect on other play.”

Helen Gardener: “The chorus is also instrumental in involving the audience in Becket’s martyrdom.”

Helen Gardener: “The real drama of the play is where the greatest poetry lies – in its choruses.”

Now to end with Eliot’s opinion about borrowing material:
T.S. Eliot: “A form which has been perfected by one age cannot be copied exactly by writers of another age. We have to make use of suggestions from any more remote drama, too remote for there to be any danger of imitation, such as Everyman, late medieval morality and miracle plays and great Greek drama.”