Becket

By the beginning of Act IV, Louis and Becket have become fast friends. To Louis, Becket possesses the qualities of true, virtuous humanity in contrast to the vacillating politicians he deals with every day: “Ah, what a pity it is to be a King, sometimes, when one has the surprise of meeting a man!” (96). Louis likes Becket and wants to protect him, but at the same time he knows he must play the political game like other rulers. He reluctantly tells Becket that he may have to stop granting him asylum. Becket is not upset by this, because he wants to return to England and be near his flock. He does not want to run away from possible martyrdom and will face the consequence of his actions.

The peace summit, which lays bare the emotional conflict between the King and Becket, is a climactic scene in the play. The scene is introduced by two comic characters, the sentries on guard duty. The older sentry tells the younger that the King and Becket are talking about important global matters and certainly not “complaining about their chilblains”—a blister caused by the cold (97). Ironically, the audience discovers a moment later that the sentries are correct: The King and Becket are talking about their chilblains and other mundane matters (98). Thus, Anouilh makes the point that great leaders have to deal with ordinary annoyances and trivial matters.

The conversation between the King and Becket is strained and awkward at first. They make small talk, but the bitter cold forces them to get to the point. Becket tries to explain in deep, philosophical terms his need to defend the honor of God, but such language is beyond the King. He gets straight to the point and asks Becket whether he will rescind the excommunications. Becket refuses: “No, Sire. My role is to defend my sheep” (103). However, “in a spirit of peace” (103), he agrees to adhere to other points raised by the King and the bishops. The King acquiesces and invites Becket to return to England, with a certain note of respect: “I give you my royal peace. May you find yours” (104). Yet when Becket asks if the King will give him “the kiss of peace” (104), the King recoils: “I can’t bear to come near you! I can’t bear to look at you!” (104). As Becket leaves, he senses that he will never see the King again—this most likely means that Becket has a premonition that he will be killed.

The remainder of the play shows the unravelling of the uneasy truce between the King and Becket. The King’s family life becomes ever more strained. His obsession with getting back at Becket leads him to install his son as co-regent. The tension builds toward the King’s final destruction of Becket. What finally pushes him over the edge is the barons’ description of Becket’s successful landing in England, where he was greeted by admiring Saxons. Torn by a mixture of love and hate, the King has an emotional breakdown: “I loved him! Yes, I loved him! And I believe I still do! Enough, O God! Enough! Stop, stop, O God, I’ve had enough!” (111)

The barons realize, along with the King, that as long as Becket is alive the King will not be able to do what he wants. Thus, their decision to go and kill Becket is motivated by their loyalty to the King. The King recovers from his fit enough to realize that the barons have gone to murder Becket. But he does not stop them; he simply “collapses on the bed with a long, broken moan” (112). Anouilh paints the picture of a man trapped by a paralyzing dilemma.

In his final scene, Becket is shown to be calm and in control. He knows that his day of reckoning has come, and he goes to meet it with courage and good humor, even making light conversation with the young monk . He puts on his vestments to celebrate Mass, which shows that his devotion to duty remains to the end: “I must look my best today. Make haste” (112). Becket refuses to hide from the assassins but instead quietly faces the altar to begin the ceremony. Here, Becket is shown in a Christ-like light; in celebrating Mass, Becket is enacting Christ’s sacrifice as he anticipates his own. Thus, in this final scene Becket becomes like Christ in the most real sense. Echoing Christ’s compassion and selflessness, Becket’s final line is one of pity for the King: “Poor Henry” (116).

Becket’s murder flows directly into the scene of the King’s whipping by the monks. This underlines the idea that the King and Becket’s fates are intertwined; Anouilh specifies that the monks “almost [duplicate] the gestures of the barons as they killed Becket” (116). Becket’s murder and the King’s punishment are both acts of expiation. In undergoing the punishment, the King makes amends for his role in Becket’s murder. But the King’s whipping is justly deserved, whereas Becket, like Jesus, was an innocent victim. This shows the fundamental moral difference between the King and Becket.

The play ends on a note of hypocrisy and irony. The King, who has just tacitly acknowledged his role in Becket’s murder, now declares Becket’s sainthood and vows to find and punish his killers. Realizing that “the honor of God […] is a very good thing, and […] one gains by having it on one’s side” (117), the King appropriates Becket’s image and legacy to aggrandize himself. A great man has tragically died, but politics go on as usual. As the curtain falls, audiences hear joyful and triumphant sounds—organ music, bells, cheering crowds—but this upbeat atmosphere is bitterly ironic.