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As the act of sacrificing one’s life in the defense or upholding of certain religious beliefs, martyrdom is the emblem of Becket’s radical submission to God. Becket seems to desire martyrdom from the very beginning of the play, though the reasons behind this desire evolve. At first he wants to die for God out of a combination of self-interest and activism (achieving glory and fame that will affect the world in ways he would want), but he eventually comes to think of himself as being fated for martyrdom, chosen by a source that is totally beyond his own ability to understand and comprehend what it might mean to, or do for, himself. Martyrdom therefore has two dimensions in the play: not only the obvious, physical event of Becket’s death, but also the continual process of sacrificing one’s partial, human view of the world for a more divine perspective that has nothing to do with human desire. Alongside Becket, the Chorus and the priests undergo this latter form of martyrdom as well.
Martyrdom Quotes in Murder in the Cathedral
The Murder in the Cathedral quotes below all refer to the symbol of Martyrdom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1
Quotes
Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain:
Temptation shall not come in this kind again.
The last temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right deed for the wrong reason . . .
What yet remains to show you of my history
Will seem to most of you at best futility,
Senseless self-slaughter of a lunatic,
Arrogant passion of a fanatic.
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Interlude
Quotes
Reflect now, how Our Lord Himself spoke of Peace. He said to His disciples ‘My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.’ Did He mean peace as we think of it: the kingdom of England at peace with its neighbours, the barons at peace with the King, the house-holder counting over his peaceful gains, the swept hearth, his best wine for a friend at the table, his wife singing to the children? Those men His disciples knew no such things: they went forth to journey afar, to suffer by land and sea, to know torture, imprisonment, disappointment, to suffer death by martyrdom. If you ask that, remember then that He said also, ‘Not as the world gives, give I unto you.’ So then, He gave to His disciples peace, but not peace as the world gives.
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A Christian martyrdom is never an accident. Saints are not made by accident . . . A martyr, a saint, is always made by the design of God, for His love of men, to warn them and to lead them, to bring them back to His ways. A martyrdom is never the design of man; for the true martyr is he who has become the instrument of God, who has lost his will in the will of God, not lost it but found it, for he has found freedom in submission to God.
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Part 2
Quotes
It is the just man who
Like a bold lion, should be without fear.
I am here.
No traitor to the King. I am a priest,
A Christian, saved by the blood of Christ,
Ready to suffer with my blood.
This is the sign of the Church always,
The sign of blood. Blood for blood.
His blood given to buy my life,
My blood given to pay for His death,
My death for his life.
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No. For the Church is stronger for this action,
Triumphant in adversity. It is fortified
By persecution: supreme, so long as men will die for it.
Go, weak sad men, lost erring souls, homeless in earth or heaven.
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Get the entire Murder in the Cathedral LitChart as a printable PDF.
Martyrdom Symbol Timeline in Murder in the Cathedral
The timeline below shows where the symbol Martyrdom appears in Murder in the Cathedral. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
...and replacing one another, implementing new reigns that will never last. The saint and the martyr, however, rule from the grave, the tempter says—and he asks Becket to think about such...
(full context)
Ultimately, the fourth tempter tells Becket to follow the path of martyrdom—to make himself “the lowest / On earth, to be high in heaven.” But Becket is...
(full context)
...damnation on account of pride (such as his desire for glory and renown because of martyrdom). In response, the tempter repeats the same speech about the relationship between acting and suffering...
(full context)
...tempter encouraged Becket “to do the right deed for the wrong reason”—to sacrifice himself through martyrdom not for a sheer love of, and faith in, God, but rather a selfish desire...
(full context)
Becket concludes by acknowledging that most people will view his commitment to God and martyrdom as fanatical, but he nevertheless commits himself to his divine cause, and asks an Angel...
(full context)
Interlude
Becket turns the congregation’s attention to the concept of martyrdom, noting that, the day after Christmas, the Church celebrates the martyrdom of Stephen, the Lord’s...
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...them again. He says that, in not too long a time, they may have another martyr.
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Part 2
...of fate, realizing that its forces are beyond their control. They therefore consent to Becket’s martyrdom, and ask him to forgive their prior ignorance and desire for him to stay out...
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...between good and evil. He then says that his decision to commit himself to his martyrdom is something that happened outside of time, and not in the worldly order of events....
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...the country and obsessed with himself. Further, Becket did everything he could to bring his martyrdom about—he had determined he would die a martyr and wanted the knights to make it...
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