Symbolism and Religious Drama T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the...

Murder in the Cathedral By T. S. Eliot In 1163, a quarrel began between the British King Henry II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. The men had been good friends, but each felt that his interests should be of primary concern to the nation and that the other should acquiesce to his demands. Becket fled to France in 1164 in order to rally support from the Catholic French for his cause and also sought an audience with the Pope. After being officially (although not personally) reconciled with the King, Becket returned to England in 1170, only to be murdered as he prayed in Canterbury Cathedral by four of Henrys Knights. Three years later, he was canonized and pilgrims—Henry among them—have made their way to his tomb ever since.†¦show more content†¦In this way, the themes of Murder in the Cathedral aptly crystallize the themes of Eliots own life-long work. The wheel was a symbol, in medieval times, of the wheel of life or the wheel of fortune, which never stands still, being co nstantly subject to the turns of fate (Dictionary of Symbolism, p. 379). No doubt Eliot draws on these ancient associations in his texts multiple references to the wheel, but he also subverts them by stating that, in fact, the wheel of fate-or, in Eliots Anglo-Catholic worldview, of Gods providence and plan for history-has in fact been standing still during Beckets seven-year absence from Canterbury. (As discussed earlier, the length of Beckets exile is itself of metaphorical importance, since seven symbolizes totality and completeness.) Beckets task is to set the wheel turning again: to take his part, willingly and completely, in Gods pattern (another word-image that occurs frequently in the text) so that the wheel can resume turning and that peace can replace the mere existence of living and partly living. The seasons also carry symbolic freight in Eliots play. The most notable example is the Chorus invocations of the passage of the seasons at the beginning of Part I and then at the end of Part II. At the beginning of the play, the passing seasons are in actuality one long season of waiting,Show MoreRelatedRhetorical Analysis Of Harold Pinter s The Room 9709 Words   |  39 Pagespopular dramas but also on his political activism which is rooted in his concern for people and their condition in realms which can be termed as social, professional or political. In fact it can be said that many of his works starting from the early comedies of menace to the later overtly political plays run parallel to his political activism in the delineation of abuse of power in familial, social and political sphere and its somatic and psychosomatic impact on the modern man. The murder of Riley