Various editions and versions of T. S. Eliot's murder in the cathedral

Abstract

T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral is a disturbing play. First, one hears or reads beautiful poetry in it, but poetry, however beautiful, does not make a verse play all by itself. To make things worse, there are long prose passages in it, not once, but twice. Secondly, there isn't much of a drama in it. Thomas returns home from self-exile, knowing well that he is in danger; he is killed in no time; his followers mourn his death, his killers defend themselves. There is nothing more in the play. Lastly, it was commissioned for performance at a religious festival. It had to have a religious appeal, and it had it, in abundance. And yet it is an admirable work of art, admired by both the religiously-minded and those who are not so, and popular on the stage too. The enigma of Murder in the Cathedral remains, I think, yet to be resolved. Thomas was killed (1170). Joan of Arc was burnt to death (1431). Mahatma Gandhi was murdered (1948). They were all deeply religious. They wanted to do good to mankind. And yet each had to die, at the hand of others. Are such men and women destined to die like this? 'O God that madest this beautiful earth, when will it be ready to accept thy saints? How long, O Lord, how long?' (Shaw, George Bernard, Saint Joan). This is the question at the heart of Murder in the Cathedral too, though not spelt out at length. The ground where 'a saint has dwelt', or died as a martyr, is 'holy ground, and the sanctity shall not depart from it' ever. If I am not mistaken, The Bangladesh Observer had termed the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman a 'historic necessity'. [Maybe the newspaper had no choice but to say so in view of the change in power, then usurped by the killers.] How very close this argument is to the argument of the Knights! The Knights speak highly of Thomas, and yet claim that they were left with no choice but to kill him. History, we know, repeats itself; but does thought repeat itself too? Are murderers the same all over and at all times? Murder in the Cathedral, if seen in the perspective of the fate of good men and women and the thought of those who find it necessary to kill them, turns into a deeply moving human document, going far beyond any religious belief or thought. This may be one reason why it is so unforgettable.