Reasserting the Significance of Sacrifice in aModern Wasteland: AStudy of Eliot'sMurder in the Cathedral

Abstract

On the surface of it T. S. Eliot’sMurder in the Cathedralseems to be a classical drama only significant to the spectators of twelfth and thirteenth centuries, from where the plot of the play comes. But a closer analysis of Dialogue, Characters and Setting reveals the play to be a significant one for the people of twentieth century living in between two world wars, the time this play was written. Some of the characters in the play resemble modern people and play important role in the play. They speak a language of twentieth century balancing their poetic dialogue but not Norman French or other twelfth century languages. And finally the play is set implicitly in twentieth environment despite its explicit religious setting. So, this play has significance in among the spectators of twentieth century.