Murder in the Cathedral
Murder in the Cathedral,a verse drama by T. S. Eliot , written for performance at the Canterbury Festival, June 1935 , and published the same year. Drawing on Greek tragedy, Christian liturgy, and biblical imagery, it is based on the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket , who returns to Canterbury after a seven-year absence: he receives visits from four Tempters, the last of whom tempts him to spiritual pride (‘to do the right deed for the wrong reason’). In an interlude he preaches to the people (Christmas Morning, 1170 ) and in Part II he is murdered by four knights, who later prosaically justify their actions. A chorus of townswomen opens and closes the drama, and comments on the action: these speeches contain some of Eliot's most memorable and haunting dramatic verse.
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