Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot

Eliot wrote this play to be performed at the Canterbury festival in 1935. It is his best-known drama and part of why he won the Nobel Prize for literature. At its foundation, the story is about the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury (Thomas Becket) in 1170. However, the story has enduring themes about the relationship between religion and politics, and the various definitions of (and motivations for) martyrdom. I found myself wondering, in the end, if Becket could be considered a true martyr. That is part of the basis for my Favorite Quote: “The true martyr is he who has become the instrument of God, who has lost his will in the will of God, and who no longer desires anything for himself, not even the glory of being a martyr.”