Q: Write a note on symbols and imagery used in the play “Murder In

The Cathedral” by T.S Eliot?

Introduction:
Murder in the Cathedral is a verse drama by T.S. Eliot, first performed in 1935, that portrays the
assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry
II in 1170. Eliot drew heavily on the writing of Edward Grim, a clerk who was an eyewitness to
the event.
Symbol and Imagery in the play:
There are many examples of symbol and imagery used in the play by Eliot. Symbols employed
by him are:
 The wheel
 Martyrdom
 Tempters and
 The Chorus
Imagery of seasons, animal imagery, order and disorder as well as blood imagery is used by the
writer to depict the martyrdom of Thomas Becket.
 The Wheel
The wheel symbolizes inevitability, change, and fate, and its turning may bring things that seem
good or evil but are ultimately God's design.
Multiple characters mention the wheel, which is generally understood to be the wheel of
fortune, which turns eternally for as long as time progresses, sometimes bringing good,
sometimes evil, but outside the control of human actors. In medieval depictions, God sits at the
center of the wheel and understands its rotations, while humans can only see the portion to
which they are affixed.

As the priest says

“For good or ill, let the wheel turn”.

“The wheel has been still, these seven years, and no good."

When characters evoke the wheel they acknowledge that their fate is out of their hands and in
God's.

In his speech about the chorus, Becket comments that,

“The pattern may subsist that the wheel may turn and still / Be forever still."

Because God's design and the future are already known to God, the experience of the turning
wheel—the suffering and the action that humans experience—is ultimately an illusion.

In their final words to Becket the four tempters reincorporate the symbol of the wheel as
ominous foreshadowing by citing the Catherine wheel, a torture implement associated with the
martyrdom of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

 Martyrdom

Becket’s martyrdom symbolizes that a sacrifice begins in pollution and ends in cleansing. It
shows his spiritual contest. He has realized that dying is more important than accepting
reasonable arguments of tempters. His martyrdom can be seen as “action out of time” which
means it has an unending and everlasting significance. Instead of fulfilling what the King wants
he prefers his own set of religious rules and is ready to die for them. This shows his bravery and
spiritual conquest. The everlasting significance of Becket’s martyrdom can be measured by
fluctuations of chorus’s remarks and sentiments as they say

“We pass them through horror, out of boredom, into glory.”

 Tempters

The four tempters symbolize many things, the first three tempters symbolize thoughts and
desires that Becket continuously entertained. The fourth tempter represents desires that are
deep-rooted yet repressed by Thomas conscious mind. The first tempter reminds him of
companionship with the king and the things he enjoyed. The second tempter suggests that he
should befriend with the king again and take up the position of “Chancellorship”. In short, he
offers Becket power saying that “Power is Present”.

The third tempter speaks of what lies in the future. He encourages Becket to increase the
power of Church against the king. He expects Becket to see the future by saying

“time past is time forgotten

We expect the rise of a new constellation”

 The Chorus

The chorus symbolizes mass of humanity which Christ came to save. They are the “articulate
voice of the body of worshippers”. The chorus speeches are most interesting, they meditate
between audience and action, providing background, and building up the atmosphere of
powerful tension of events that are happening. They are the common masses who at first are
mourning at the return of Becket suggesting that he would be murdered but by the end of the
play their attitude is changed completely as the praise the martyrdom of Becket, suggesting it
was necessary to clean off all their sins.

 Imagery of Seasons

At the beginning of the play the chorus shows unwillingness to Archbishop’s return. It signifies
that they are rejecting return of life with the spring. They are not yet ready for spiritual rebirth.
They want Becket to go back and they fear the disturbance of the quiet season by something
destructive. As they say

“winter shall come bringing death from the seas”.

By the end of the play, the seasons are no longer disturbed and voices of seasons, the scuffle of
winter, the song of spring and the drone of summer are the evidence of spiritual renewal that
has occurred as a result of Becket’s martyrdom.

The chorus’s spiritual development is represented by the development of imagery.

 Order and Disorder

All the images proceed from representing slight disturbance initially through a gradually
heightening sense of chaotic disorder, to the end, in which order is established.

The chorus in not ready to disturb the order of their existence but they need to understand
that it needs to be disturbed in order to establish “spiritual order” in a state is that is
“spiritual wasteland”. Man is a combination of animal and angel i.e sense and intellect. So in
order to be a good man he has to come down from his position as a link between the animal
and angelic and hence there is an order in the natural world and martyrdom reaffirms
order.

 Animal Imagery

The animal imagery is a part of order and disorder pattern. Firstly, it is used to characterize
the agents of disorder, the Knights. They compare themselves to beasts as they ridicule
Thomas.

“Come down Daniel to the Lions Den”

They are called beasts who damn themselves to ‘beasts’ by one of the priests.

The zoological imagery also serves to associate the passive chorus with the unredeemed,
elemental nature. They feel themselves involved in the bestial degradation. They share the
disorder brought by evil in their “consent” to martyrdom. The chorus feels that the blood of
Thomas is defiling the land, beasts and themselves. They are filled with guilt and link
themselves to murderers as they say

“We are soiled by a filth that we cannot clean, united to supernatural vermin.”

 Blood Imagery

The play “Murder in the Cathedral” has two meanings. On a surface level it shows the
historical situation of martyrdom of Thomas Becket. But on a deeper level it has a different
meaning, the murder of Thomas Becket can be seen as the role of Christ and ritual
sequence of events have been developed to conform to the Christian interpretation of that
pattern in Biblical lore.

His murder can be seen as a parallel between the temptations and triumphs of Christ and
those of Thomas. The first part of the play can be seen as the temptations of Christ while
second part shows the passion for suffering the death.

The temptations faced by Becket can be compared to the temptations faced by Christ at
many points. The role of four tempters in Becket’s story is similar to role of Devil in Christ’s
life.

The Martyrdom of Thomas has distinct echoes of the passion Christ has given in Bible. Both
of them sacrificed their lives for the sake of God and goodwill of people. Thomas was
murdered and Christ was crucified by the jealous seekers of power in this world. Christ died
to redeem mankind, and a martyr in return gives his life both to repay and to re-enact the
sacrifice of Christ. The blood imagery is repeatedly used in the play has a deep significance.

For the Chorus the blood is symbolic of their guilt in the shedding of saint’s blood. They feel
guilt at the murder of Thomas but they do not realize that this murder would bring them
spiritual heights and would serve as a price for their sins.