Murder in the Cathedral (1935) is a historical verse drama by T. S. Eliot about the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in December 1170. It has become the best-known and most often produced of Eliot’s dramatic works. The play was first performed at the Chapter House of Canterbury Cathedral on the evening of 19 June 1935 as part of that year’s Canterbury Festival. Eliot’s text of the play had been available in an abbreviated Acting Edition since 10 May, and its officially published full version had just been issued on 13 June by Faber and Faber, of which Eliot was a director. He would subsequently revise that text in successive editions: this article describes the version given in …
1917 words
Citation: Baker, William. "Murder in the Cathedral". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 February 2021 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3412, accessed 20 April 2024.]
