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A true and perfect Anglo Catholic as he was, Eliot was concerned about the spiritual paralysis and moral
degeneration of the modern age. According to him, the divorce from the spirituality and the decadence
of the moral values are the root causes of social and human disintegration. To Eliot, the only panacea for
such dehumanized mankind, for the denizens of the sub human world is a revival of the spiritual values.
He sought to inculcate through the media of literature, the spirit of a true Christian martyr.
He proclaimed with a ring of great religious confidence in his voice: “Let there be a dozen of such literary
pieces to illustrate before the people the inspiring effect of martyrdom in its noblest sense.”
Thus the poet has expressed his own views on the connotation of martyrdom through the voice of
Becket:
has lost his will in the Will of God, and no longer desires
This is the essence of the play and this is what the dramatist has all along endeavored to highlight. In
this connection, Miss Helen Gardner has made a perceptive commentary which merits quotation: ‘The
central theme of the play’, she says “is martyrdom and martyrdom in its strict sense. The actual deed by
which Thomas is struck down is, in a sense, unimportant. It is not important has a dramatic climax
towards which all that has happened leads. We are warned again and again that we are not watching a
sequence of events that has the normal dramatic logic of motive, act, result, but an action which
depends on the will of God and not on the will of men:
In Murder in the Cathedral, the playwright had an altogether different objective. Indeed, he was not
actuated by any dramatic motive in the strict sense of the term. Eliot has maintained:
and martyrdom.”
The above observation of Eliot is indeed very much pertinent. Neither to recount heroic episode of the
protagonist nor to show the catastrophe on the human tragedy of Becket. He has simply dramatized the
experience of martyrdom. The inner or the central point of interest is the gradual development of
Becket’s mind towards martyrdom. How Becket successfully passed through many a crucial test and also
how he successively overcame the different of temptations have been comprehensively and
convincingly dealt with by Eliot. The agents of obstruction repeatedly and concurrently pose formidable
barriers in the path of Becket’s progress towards martyrdom. But transcending all hindrances and
limitations Thomas became a true martyr. Through incantatory rhythm of verses, the poet-dramatist has
again and again shown the spiritual foundation of Becket which stimulated his confidence and ultimately
enabled him to accept death and suffering quietly and in the spirit of a true martyr. Even in Part I, we
find Thomas explaining to the women of Canterbury :-
Interspersed in this drama is such poetry of exaltation, of spiritual elevation, which having been set
against the dismal atmosphere of dark foreboding and prognostication has heightened the tone and
effect of the drama. Becket surrendered his will to the will of God and his total resignation and spiritual
transformation have also been manifested as the design of God. A devout Christian as he was, Eliot
never shirked from reiterating that
“Christian martyrdom is neither an accident nor the effect of a man’s will to become a Saint.”
It is absolutely a design of gold. But at the same time, it has sufficiently been shown and adequately
justified that the essential pre-requisite for being a true martyr was inherent in the character of Becket.
He was simply waiting for the destined moment. That this martyrdom was God-ordained, that it was a
will of God has been stressed by Eliot again and again. Simultaneously he has not ignored the issue of
dramatic significance. He has thrown sufficient light upon the process of the progressive spiritual uplift
of Becket and also on the temptations and seductive designs to which Becket was subjected. The
impeccable spiritual uprightness of Becket has also been vividly portrayed. The tempters were all out to
sully his spiritual integrity; but he withstood all obstructions and declined to make will impure. Thus he
rightly came to realize the subtle motive of the last tempter:
This realization helped Becket to effect a purgation or purification of mind and to safeguard himself
from such lapses as are repugnant to true martyrdom. Thereafter in part II we find the essential virtue
and rectitude of Thomas which turned him to a worthy martyr. The following pronouncements of
Thomas stand as eloquent testimony to the spiritual orientation and deep-seated conviction of Thomas
which constitute the sine qua non of Christian martyrdom: