Murder in the Cathedral: as A Poetic Drama

Introduction:-
Nineteenth-century England, although productive in other fields of literature, was rather
weak in drama. But it was not perhaps for want of trying. Practically all the great poets,
Wordsworth, Shelley Byron, Browning, Tennyson, tried their hand at poetic drama, but failed to
bring about a revival of the genre. Thus, there was no drama of significance between Sheridan's
plays, and Shaw's and Wilde's early efforts in the late 19th century. Even these latter
playwrights wrote in prose. Though witty, and social in spirit, Shaw's plays deal mostly with
social evils.

Poetic drama, however, seemed to have dwindled into nothingness, after its glory in the
Elizabethan age. However, prose drama soon become decadent after Shaw; plays now tended
to be superficial in their treatment of subjects; they did not grasp the depth, tension and
complexity of contemporary life. The aim was chiefly entertainment and those standards had
fallen. It tended to exclude issues of a deep and fundamental nature, concentrating as it did on
social or economical issues. This to some extent resulted in some poets trying to revive the
tradition of verse plays.

Revival of Poetic Drama:-

W.B. Yeats was of the view that drama should turn away from naturalism or realism and
rationalism and get its results through the emotions; that can be achieved only through poetry.
Yeats and some other Irish dramatists like J.M. Synge and Sean O' Casey contributed to the
revival of this genre. Some of their plays, though in prose, had a poetic quality about them.
Stephen Phillip's Herod in 1901 could be seen as, the 'poetic play marking the beginning of the
revival of poetic drama in the 20th century. Some other names are also important in this revival
movement. They are John Masefield, Christopher Isherwood, W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender
and Christopher Fry. The greatest influence was T.S. Eliot who formulated a dramatic theory
regarding poetic drama in a number of critical essays and lectures.

Eliot's Views:-
At the time of writing Murder in the Cathedral, Eliot's view was that the audience should be
made aware that what they were watching and that the audience should not be made aware of
the medium but only be concerned with the drama as a whole.

He further said that the subject for poetic drama should be such that it cannot be
adequately dealt with in prose, i.e., a subject that can be treated in prose was not fit for poetic
drama. Poetic drama had to deal with intense emotions basic to the human heart. Poetic drama
has a richness in it and this was due to the presence of an "under- pattern" - a kind of
doubleness in the action as if it took place on two planes at once. Poetic drama also had the
ability to achieve a better concentration and unity - because verse by its very nature gave
richness, depth and unity to a play. There should further be, said Eliot, a moral attitude on the
author's part which he can share with his audience. Eliot also held the view that the author
would have to follow certain conditions and conventions in writing poetic drama. Self-control
was necessary, if he had to succeed in communicating to his audience, and communication in
drama was a great problem as it had to be immediate and done through strange actors and
directors.

The versification had to be of a flexible or elastic kind that could be modulated to suit the
different characters in different situations. The poetry had to be integral to the drama, i.e. it
had to be dramatically justified and not be merely incidental or just an embellishment or a
decoration. In such a light, even rhetorical speech had its place in poetic drama if it suited the
occasion. Each and every line had to be dramatically relevant. Let us see how far Murder in the
Cathedral follows these tenets of poetic drama.

Subject:-
Firstly, its subject was historical and as such presented an easy nance for Eliot to use verse.
There was a tradition of historical subjects being dealt with in verse. The plot was the
martyrdom of Thomas Becket.

New poetic form:-

Eliot's purpose required the creation of a new poetic form. For this, he turned far back, to
the ancient Greek dramatists and the English Morality plays of medieval times. He avoided
Shakespeare, as that form had been perfected in the Elizabethan age and using it would only
result in what he called "pale imitations". He is mainly indebted to Greek tragedy for the form
of his play. It can be said to be a series of episodes linked by Stasima or choral odes. He
modeled much of the versification upon Everyman, a Medieval Morality play

Versification:-
Eliot developed a suitable verse form which was neither archaic (which would have isolated
the theme from any contemporary relevance) nor completely of contemporary idiom (that
would not be suitable for characters decidedly removed from this age). The vers form was such
that it worked both ways: keeping up the historical illusion while bringing home the relevance
of the theme to the contemporary situation.

However, it is to be noted, as Eliot himself was aware, that this form was suitable for
Murder in the Cathedral alone and not for all verse plays. As he said, the versification in this
play is flexible, avoids Shakespearean overtones and has a natural style. It is suited to the
emotions which are to be expressed, and the character who expresses them.

Nowhere in the play do we find any versification which is not dramatically valid. It is the
power of this dramatic verse that gives the play its unique quality of unity and intensity. As
poetic drama demands that it deal with emotions and themes fundamental to mankind, Murder
in the Cathedral deals not merely with the story of the murder of Thomas Becket; not only with
his martyrdom but with its significance for the common man. It deals with man's relationship to
God. In this aspect, it can be called a religious play. Such a fundamental aspect of human
existence is fit for poetic treatment. "Imagined with intense emotion, it demands expression in
heightened speech". Another important fact about poetic drama is that it deals with something
of permanent relevance. This is true of Murder in the Cathedral: its theme is of universal
significance. Its treatment is again always dramatically relevant. "Each character speaks and
expresses what he or she is". The vocabulary, idiom and rhythm of the language are perfectly
modulated to suit the occasion - the Chorus is a perfect example of this.

Imagery, too, has a functional value in the play and is not used for mere decoration. The
images are integral to the drama. The verse lends a quality of richness to the play and this leads
to another important aspect of the play.

Doubleness of action:-
Poetic drama, said Eliot, can suggest levels of reference beyond the immediate one, of the
dramatic action, for poetry can easily bring the deep reserves of significance in myth and
religion into drama. This his is partly because in myth and religion we apprehend reality in a
manner not wholly intellectual but through emotional and instinctive response, and for
emotional involvement, poetry is the best mode with its metaphor and imagery.

There is this "doubleness of action" in Murder in the Cathedral; the simultaneous revelation
of more than one plane of reality. lt is not limited to the representation of more than one plane
of reality. It is not limited to the representation of the killing of Thomas or even to his finding
the true path of martyrdom. Although there is the spiritual progress or the chorus-from its
initial aversion to involvement in the martyrdom of Thomas, it grows to acceptance and
spiritual understanding. And this development on the part of the chorus cannot be seen
separate from the primary action, but is absolutely integrated with it.

The Chorus:-
Firstly the Chorus helped Eliot, as he himself admitted, in augmenting the meager material
that was the essential action of thee play. They reflect in their emotion the significance of the
action. Eliot restored the full-throated Chorus of Greek tragedy in this play. He uses it to open
out the action into its full significance. The Chorus represents the mass of humanity which
Christ came to save and its original function is enlarged in the light of the Christian liturgy. They
are the "articulate voice of the body of worshippers." (Raymond Williams)

It is in the choric speeches that we get the most interesting dramatic verse. As it mediates
between audience and action, providing background, and building up an atmosphere of
powerful tension we are involved and move with it from opposition to final reconciliation to
martyrdom. And it is the verse that produces this effect.

Drawbacks:-
Poetic drama, said Eliot, was an unattainable ideal and the dramatist's task was to strive to
get as near as possible. Naturally, Murder in the Cathedral is not a perfect example of the
general but is a good enough one. What it lacks, and Eliot himself is aware of, is individualized
characterization. The presence of just one dominant Character - Becket - reduces the chances
of dramatic conflict and dialogue suffers as a result. Eliot has also said that prose had no place
in poetic drama and yet we have two prose passages in this play. This, however, cannot really
be called a demerit as both passages are dramatically relevant in prose.
 The play has been charged with having no proper dramatic development but this again is a
dubious complaint, since its treatment demands that we see it as a ritualistic presentation
rather than apply to it the standards of the realistic drama.

Conclusion:-

The play derives its greatness from its dramatic verse. Eliot had said: "The greatest drama is
a poetic drama, and dramatic defects can be compensated by poetic excellence. Indeed, the
defects of Murder in the Cathedral shrink to negligible proportions in the face of the beautiful
verse, the gripping poetry of the Chorus."

Plot:

The action occurs between 2 and 29 December 1170, chronicling the days leading up to
the martyrdom of Thomas Becket following his absence of seven years in France. Becket's
internal struggle is a central focus of the play.

The book is divided into two parts. Part one takes place in the Archbishop Thomas Becket's hall
on 2 December 1170. The play begins with a Chorus singing, foreshadowing the coming
violence. The Chorus is a key part of the drama, with its voice changing and developing during
the play, offering comments about the action and providing a link between the audience and
the characters and action, as in Greek drama. Three priests are present, and they reflect on the
absence of Becket and the rise of temporal power. A herald announces Becket’s arrival. Becket
is immediately reflective about his coming martyrdom, which he embraces, and which is
understood to be a sign of his own selfishness—his fatal weakness. The tempters arrive, three
of whom parallel the Temptations of Christ.

The first tempter offers the prospect of physical safety.

Take a friend's advice. Leave well alone,

Or your goose may be cooked and eaten to the bone.

The second offers power, riches, and fame in serving the King.

To set down the great, protect the poor,

Beneath the throne of God can man do more?

The third tempter suggests a coalition with the barons and a chance to resist the King.

For us, Church favour would be an advantage,

Blessing of Pope powerful protection
In the fight for liberty. You, my Lord,
In being with us, would fight a good stroke

Finally, a fourth tempter urges him to seek the glory of martyrdom.

You hold the keys of heaven and hell.

Power to bind and loose: bind, Thomas, bind,
King and bishop under your heel.
King, emperor, bishop, baron, king:

Becket responds to all of the tempters and specifically addresses the immoral suggestions of
the fourth tempter at the end of the first act:

Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain:

Temptation shall not come in this kind again.
The last temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right deed for the wrong reason.

The Interlude of the play is a sermon given by Becket on Christmas morning 1170. It is about
the strange contradiction that Christmas is a day both of mourning and rejoicing, which
Christians also do for martyrs. He announces at the end of his sermon, "it is possible that in a
short time you may have yet another martyr". We see in the sermon something of Becket's
ultimate peace of mind, as he elects not to seek sainthood, but to accept his death as inevitable
and part of a better whole.

Part II of the play takes place in the Archbishop's Hall and in the Cathedral, 29 December 1170.
Four knights arrive with "Urgent business" from the king. These knights had heard the king
speak of his frustration with Becket and had interpreted this as an order to kill Becket. They
accuse him of betrayal, and he claims to be loyal. He tells them to accuse him in public, and
they make to attack him, but priests intervene. The priests insist that he leave and protect
himself, but he refuses. The knights leave and Becket again says he is ready to die. The chorus
sings that they knew this conflict was coming, that it had long been in the fabric of their lives,
both temporal and spiritual. The chorus again reflects on the coming devastation. Thomas is
taken to the Cathedral, where the knights break in and kill him. The chorus laments: “Clear the
air! Clean the sky!", and "The land is foul, the water is foul, our beasts and ourselves defiled
with blood."

At the close of the play, the knights address the audience to defend their actions. While the rest
of the play is in verse, their speeches of justification are in strikingly contemporary prose. They
assert that while they understand their actions will be seen as murder, it was necessary and
justified, so that the power of the church should not undermine the stability of the state.