"Murder in the Cathedral" is a play written by T.S. Elliot, written and first performed in 1935. The play is a dramatized version of the assassination of Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury, by knights acting for the King.
The play has a minimal cast: Thomas Beckett, four assassins, four tempters, three priests, and a chorus that explains and philosophizes. It also doesn't have a traditional arrangement into Acts or Scenes, there is just a Part I and Part II.
The writeup above was critical of the play, and I agree with most of its conclusions. Eliot has a beautiful command of language and verse, and there are some beautiful passages. The philosophical arguments, and Becket's acceptance of his fate by accepting the will of God, are also well illustrated. But what that gives us is a beautiful poem, not a great play. Plays require drama--- which means someone has to make a decision. And they require plot, which means incidents have to happen to move that
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