Murder in Cathedral by TS Eliot tells the story of Thomas Beckett, a man who reigned as Archbishop of Canterbury during 12th-century England until his death in 1170. To tell Beckett’s story, Eliot creates a series of equally interesting characters who each play a crucial role in the thought of the work. The most unique role found within the play is that of the Women of Canterbury, or the Choir. Throughout the piece, the Choir offers seven choral odes. These choral odes, seen as a collective work, tell a story. They begin with a brief foreshadowing of events that will occur later in the play, but then quickly jump to the necessary story; one that summarizes the events of the past and then immerses the audience in the common man’s view of events in the present.
The first choral ode begins with strong foreshadowing. The Women of Canterbury are drawn to the Cathedral, but they don’t know why. At first, there is confusion. They wonder: “Are we drawn by danger? Is it the knowledge of safety that draws our feet to the Cathedral?” However, when they arrive at the cathedral, they realize something. “There is no danger to us, and there is no security in the cathedral. Some foreshadowing of an act, which our eyes are compelled to witness, has forced our feet into the cathedral.” They recognize that it is not their own personal danger that brings them closer to the cathedral, but the foreshadowing of a ghastly act that they will be forced to bear witness to. It will be an act so terrible that not even safety can be found within the hallowed halls of the cathedral.
After the foreshadowing period, the mood of the first choral ode shifts sharply from the dark and mysterious foreshadowing of an act to a description of the concrete past. The remainder of the choral ode serves to bring the audience up to speed on the last seven years of Canterbury’s history. As they relay the events of the past, the women of Canterbury express a constant, haunting fear for their Archbishop’s safety. A perfect example of this common theme found within the first choral ode is in the following stanza, in which the Chorus says:
“Seven years and the summer is over,
Seven years since the Archbishop left us,
The one who was always so kind to his people.
But it wouldn’t be right for him to come back.”
These lines are typical of the first choral ode, for they not only explain to the audience that Archbishop Thomas Beckett has been gone seven years, but they fear for his and Canterbury’s well-being if he were to return. As the choral ode draws to a close, the Canterbury Women give off a sense of inevitable waiting. They say:
“Come happy December, who will watch you, who will preserve you?
Is the Son of Man to be born again on the bed of derision?
For us poor people, there is no action,
But just to wait and see”
They welcome the month of December, but then wonder how it could be a happy time. Who could celebrate Christmas and Advent with the terrible events that are about to occur? Could Jesus be reborn in such contempt? The Women of Canterbury know that there is little they can do at this time. They must wait and then witness the act they fear.
As the second choral ode begins, the general mood shifts from confusion and anticipation to fear. The Women of Canterbury have been informed that Beckett is returning to Canterbury. Such an announcement arouses great anxiety among them. They fear that his way of life will be disrupted and put in danger. They plead with a Thomas who has not yet reached:
“Come back. Quickly. Quietly. Let us perish quietly.”
You come with applause, you come with joy, but
You come bringing death to Canterbury:
A bane on the house, a bane on yourself, a bane on the world.”
The women say that although outwardly they will rejoice, deep down inside they will be gripped with fear, because they believe that his coming will come at the hand of their own death. The idea of fear is the general theme in the second choral ode, as it is constantly repeated throughout the verses. Later in the choral ode, the women say, “We are afraid of a fear that we cannot know, that we cannot face, that no one understands.” This illustrates the depth and complexity of the fear they face, as they do not know how to combat it or fully understand it. All the people know is that with Thomas comes death to their Canterbury home, so they beg him to “leave us, leave us, leave sullen Dover and set sail for France.”
The fear of the second choral ode becomes a reality in the third. The Canterbury Women know what decision Beckett has made. They tell her: “We have not been happy, my Lord, we have not been too happy. We are not ignorant women, we know what to expect and not to expect.” By saying this, the Women of Canterbury mean that they understand the consequences that Thomas has chosen to stay in Canterbury. They know that he will perish if he stays. Then the women begin to despair. They cry: “God always gave us some reason, some hope; but now a new terror has befallen us, that no one can avoid”, and, “God is leaving us, God is leaving us, more anguish, more pain than birth Or death.” The Women of Canterbury, who always believed in the idea that God was protecting their Archbishop, believe that Thomas has turned away from the Lord’s protection by choosing to stay in Canterbury, because not even God could protect him from the wrath of what still remains. was to come. to come.
The fourth choral ode that opens the second act goes in a completely different direction than the intense despair of the third choral ode. Instead, this choral ode is more tolerant, because the choir knows that Beckett’s death is near. Nature is used throughout this choral ode to foreshadow his death. At one point, the Women of Canterbury say: “The hungry raven sits in the field, attentive; and in the forest the owl rehearses the sacred note of death.” The hungry raven they speak of symbolizes the Four Knights, who arrive in Canterbury shortly after delivering the choral ode. The owl symbolizes the outcome of their visit to Canterbury: a death, a death they fear will befall Thomas. Although they have accepted the situation, the Canterbury Women feel powerless as all they can do between then and Thomas’s death is wait. Since there is nothing they can do, they say, “We wait, and the time is short, but the wait is long.”
As the fifth choral ode begins, the helplessness of the fourth choral ode continues, but this time it is combined with an air of guilt. The Canterbury Women are stuck in a middle ground. They were sad:
“Now it is too late for action, too soon for contrition.
Nothing is possible except fainting in shame
Of those who consent to the ultimate humiliation.
I have consented, Archbishop, I have consented.”
The women realize that the wheel is turning and that the eternal action that leads to Beckett’s doom is underway. They are desperate, because it is too late to try to help their archbishop, but too soon to apologize for allowing Beckett to be killed. The assassination of their archbishop is a matter for which they take personal responsibility and see it as a humiliation for all. Their final cry of “I have consented, Lord Archbishop” truly isolates and illustrates the immense guilt they have brought upon themselves. The Canterbury Women believe that by standing aside and allowing the Knights to threaten Thomas, they have consented to his murder. The only thing left for them is impotence, guilt and, as always, waiting.
The sixth choral ode is met with a shift from helplessness to intense anguish. Archbishop Thomas Beckett has just been assassinated, and the Women of Canterbury feel as if they, along with all of Canterbury, have been stained with their Archbishop’s blood. The chorus shouts:
“Clean the air! Clean the sky! Wash the wind! Take the
Stone of stone, take the skin of the arm,
Take the muscle from the bone and wash them.
Wash the stone, wash the bone, wash the brain,
Wash your soul, wash it, wash it!”
As shown, the Women of Canterbury become obsessed with trying to cleanse themselves of Beckett’s blood. Such words confirm that the Women of Canterbury not only see the Four Caballeros as the murderer of Thomas Beckett, but also themselves. They feel great sorrow, proclaiming:
“We didn’t want anything to happen.
We understood the private catastrophe,
The personal loss, the general misery,
Living and partly living”
These lines show that although they believe they were part of the murder, they were unintentionally involved. They didn’t mean to make their archbishop feel bad, but through their inaction, his life and in part, they allowed Beckett to face a tragedy, a tragedy they were fully aware of, alone. The Women of Canterbury abandoned their Lord, and they don’t know how to deal with their despair.
The final choral ode begins not with despair, but with grateful praise to an almighty God. The entire choral ode reads as one long prayer of praise, thanks, and then contrition to a merciful God. At some points, the Canterbury Women even go so far as to compare their deceased archbishop to Jesus Christ. At first, they say, “We praise You, O God, for Your glory displayed in all creatures.” The Canterbury Women then go on to show their gratitude to God by respectfully praying, “We thank You for Your mercies.” of blood, for your redemption by blood. By the blood of your martyrs and saints.” With these words, the Women of Canterbury thank God for redeeming their souls with the blood of Thomas, their Archbishop. Through these lines, Eliot is comparing the murder of Thomas Beckett with the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, saying that they both died to save the souls of those around them. Finally, the Woman of Canterbury seeks contrition, pleading: “Forgive us, O Lord, we recognize ourselves as a type of the common man, of men and women who close the door and sit by the fire.” On the one hand, they apologize for standing by and doing nothing to prevent Beckett’s death, since they are just ordinary men. However, if you read deeper, they return to Beckett’s image of Christ. The common men ask forgiveness, for like Peter, they “sat by the fire” and denied their Lord. Just as Peter allowed Christ to die, the Canterbury Women allowed Thomas Beckett to die. it was.
The seven choral odes in TS Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral tell the story of the common man’s view of the events that transpired during that fateful December 1170 in Canterbury. Through foreshadowing and an interesting use of language, TS Eliot creates the Chorus to be one of the most fascinating characters in the entire play, if not the most fascinating. His unique perspective on the murder of Thomas Beckett truly makes Murder in the Cathedral one of the greatest works of the 20th century.
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