Home > Becket, or the Honor of God Summary & Study Guide

Becket, or the Honor of God | Introduction

Jean Anouilh’s Becket; ou l’honneur de Dieu (Becket; or the Honor of God) tells the troubled story of the relationship between Thomas à Becket and Henry Plantagenet, known to history as King Henry II of England. This relationship begins as friendship and ends with the murder of Becket by Henry’s henchmen at the Cathedral of Canterbury. Anouilh sets Becket in England during the twelfth century, a time of political and religious upheaval. In Anouilh’s interpretation of this history, the Saxon peasants have not yet acquiesced to their Norman conquerors, nor has the throne firmly established its supremacy over the Catholic Church.

Becket was written in 1958 in France and was first produced in 1959 in Paris at Theatre Montparnasse-Gaston Baty. The French edition of the play was published by Editions de la Table Ronde in 1959. In 1960, Becket opened in New York at the St. James Theatre. This production won a Tony Award. A translation of the play by Lucienne Hill was issued in England and New York by Coward-McCann publishers, who subsequently reprinted the play twenty-three times, a comment on the ongoing popularity of Anouilh’s play. Indeed, Riverhead Books, New York, released an easily available paperback edition of the play as recently as 1995.

Becket addresses themes and ideas that retain their importance, commenting on issues of love and hatred, resistance and collaboration, and church and state. Although Becket begins the play as a man without honor, he closes the play as a man who dies to defend God’s honor. It is as a martyr that Becket finds his place in history; and it is through Anouilh’s play that the man behind the legend comes to life.

Becket, or the Honor of God Summary

Act 1
The play opens at the tomb of Becket in the Cathedral of Canterbury. King Henry II enters, removes his cape, revealing that he is naked, kneels, and begins to pray. The king is at the tomb waiting to be flogged by priests in payment for his role in the assassination of Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury. As Henry speaks, Becket appears on stage. Henry recalls earlier times when they were best friends.

The scene shifts suddenly, and it is now several years earlier. A much younger Becket, dressed as a nobleman, enters Henry’s bedroom. The relationship between the two men becomes clearer here: Becket is a Saxon who has been taken into service by the king, who is Norman. Becket helps Henry dress, and the two go to the Privy Council together.

At the Privy Council, the fundamental tension between the king and the church is revealed: The clergy’s refusal to pay a tax levied by the crown has brought the matter to a head. In a movement Henry believes will solidify his own power, Henry names Becket as chancellor of England. Henry, however, has forgotten that Becket is not only his friend but also an archdeacon in the church.

An argument over taxes with the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of Oxford, and Gilbert Folliot ensues. Becket shows his shrewdness by outmaneuvering the church representatives. He is fully Henry’s man, and as he says, ‘‘My mother is England now.’’

In the next scene, the king and Becket are hunting. They come across a Saxon family, and Becket tries to save a young girl from Henry’s lechery by saying he fancies her himself. Henry makes him promise a favor for a favor. Later that night, Henry asks for Becket’s mistress, Gwendolen.... » Complete Becket, or the Honor of God Summary