Becket Honor Quotes

Sam Noyce
Reflective Living

Group One:
Throughout the play we discussed the issue of honor. Explain this concept as it relates to the following characters: Becket, Henry, Louis, Folliot and Gwendolyn.

Throughout the play Becket, the issue of honor revolves around many characters. Honor can be referred to as esteem, value, or great respect. In honoring a person you put value on that person and think of them as worthy. To honor someone is to value him highly or bestow value upon him. In the Bible Peter tells says honor is to, “honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). But honor can come to people in many different ways such as honoring a possession, a person, God or a being of power, or just honoring

yourself. In Becket, the idea of honor can be seen through many characters such as Becket, Henry, Louis, Folliot, and Gwendolyn.

Becket’s honor comes from the honor of serving God. Becket serves God by working to bring the honor of God and the Honor of the King to become one. This is seen as he says, “I’m waiting for the honor of God and the honor of the King to become one” (62). Becket receives honor in putting God over his material, power, and personal desires and even over his loved ones knowing it is what God wants from him. For King Henry, honor relates to him in a very different way. For Henry, honor comes from his high power and obtaining and gaining power by ruling over others. King Henry says, “we went in hand in hand to conquer, pillage and ransom England. We quarrel, we try to cheat each other of a penny or two” (72). From Henry’s quote he shows where he gets his honor from. He shows that by ruling over those less powerful than him and by conquering more wealth he gets honor through superiority over other beings. For King Louis, his honor is similar to King Henrys. Louis similarly gets his honor through power over people and the pride he gets from that knowing he can control those under him. In the play, Becket,

you see the Louis’s honor in having control over others in the quote, “France’s interests consist in making things as difficult as possible for England” (85). From this quote it is seen Louis’s interest in having gives him his honor. He gets honor knowing that they easily can hurt England as a country and that England needs them to conquer greatness. Differently from other characters, Folliott throughout the story suffers from a lack of self honor. Due to the fact that he is pushed behind Becket and not shown he has any value, he strives to gain the honor of having power like the King’s do. Through his jealousy of those with power he works with the pope on Henry’s behalf and eventually is at fault for the death of Becket as he works to get the power he once thought he deserved. Lastly for Gwendolyn, her honor comes from being loved. For Gwendolyn she lived to be loved by others. She seeked love from Becket and for her she felt like she found it as she fell in love with Becket. But when she realised Becket was using her as a pawn in a bargain. From this experience Gwen lost her honor and killed herself for it in sadness feeling that she will never be truly loved.

To sum it up, every character in the play Becket faced a type of honor. For Becket, it was the honor of serving out the mission God put him on and protecting the honor of God. As for King Henry, Louis, and Folliot, they got their honor through the self satisfaction of having power over others. and Lastly for Gwendolyn, she was given honor from love and the feeling of truly feeling wanted by another human being instead of just being used.

Group Two:
Throughout the play the author employed the symbolism of clothing. Using examples from each act, explain this symbolism specifically.

Throughout the play, Becket, there are many instances where clothes are mentioned to symbolise many different things. These symbols range from symbolising power and strength to sorrow and love. In the following paragraph I will demonstrate instances in the play Becket where clothing is used and explain the symbolism it shows. Symbolism of clothing is used by several characters including King Henry, the 1st Baron, and Becket.

Clothing is used as a symbol starting from the beginning of the play as King Henry says, “I am naked at your tomb and your monks are coming to flog me” (1). From King Henry’s lack of clothing in this scene there is a key symbol of love. Henry realises that throughout his life he has been fighting even the ones he loved for more power and in many instances throwing away his loved ones for his own wealth. But in this scene it shows Henry realises that no matter how much power you gain none of it is worth losing your loved ones for. This is seen through Henry’s nakedness as this symbolises him throwing away all of his fancy material items, in this case clothes, and showing he would give all of it up if he could have Becket back. Another symbolism of clothes is when the 1st Baron says, “it’s my sword! And anyone who thinks different” (39). This quote shows the Baron using his sword to refer to his power and strength. The sword symbolises the Baron’s power to kill anyone who challenges him and is used as a warning to people to not mess with him. Clothing is also used as a symbol of superiority by Becket. This is seen when Becket “gives them his ring to kiss” (75). The ring in which Becket is wearing symbolises his wealth and by making the Baron’s kiss it shows that his wealth must be respected. The fancy jewelry in which Becket posses is a way for him to show his hierarchy and power he has in England. Becket again uses clothing as a symbol later in the play. This happens when he says, “clad in my golden cope, with my miter on my head and my silver cross in my hand, among my flock in my own cathedral” (96). This symbol comes later in the play when Becket realises that he was given power to serve God. This quote shows Becket not caught up in material objects anymore but focussed on the work he owes to God. The cross symbolises Becket’s life dedicated to God instead of the life he used to live dedicated to gaining power.

In conclusion, clothes can be used to be symbolise many different ideas and feelings. King Henry uses clothes to symbolise his love for Becket over his love for his power and wealth. The Baron uses his sword to symbolise his power and strength that he can enforce at any time. Lastly, Becket uses his ring to symbolise his superiority and wealth over others but later uses his cross to symbolise himself giving up that life for a life under God.

Group Three:
We discussed that Becket's soliloquy at the end of Act Three was his epiphany. Explain the meaning of the term and explain how soliloquy is the epiphany.

An epiphany is a realisation or appearance of a divine being to a person. The term epiphany itself comes from the Greek word, epiphaneia, which means appearance and is commonly referred to as a revelation brought to a person by God. When a epiphany occurs a person goes through what is said to be a “magic” moment where they are shown the divine. This experience in most cases changes the way a person sees life since their view on how they live life is changed and the are given a guide on how to live their life. In the play, Becket, an epiphany is witnessed through the character Becket. Becket was a saxon who was born to a common wealth family whose desire for wealth and luxurious items helped him rise into a close friendship with King Henry. From their close friendship Henry makes Becket his chancellor of England and later Archbishop of Canterbury. From this, Becket has an epiphany from God in which he finally realised the reason for his rise to such a high position.

Becket’s epiphany can be seen at the end of act three in which he gives a soliloquy in which he explains the reason he has been chosen to be archbishop of Canterbury. Becket states, “it has pleased You to make me Archbishop and to set me, like a solitary pawn, face to face with the King, upon the chessboard. I shall go back to my place, humbly, and let the world accuse me of pride, so that I may do what I believe is my life’s work. For the rest, Your will be done” (94). From these words Becket says the reason he has been chosen to be archbishop of Canterbury is to defend God’s honor. Becket goes on a mission to make the honor of God and the honor of the King become one and the same. Becket as a man of God truly loves God with all his heart works to protect God’s honor through the honor in serving God. From the epiphany Becket receives and the mission he sets on to protect the honor of God, he will stop for nothing gives his life to the honor of God as he is assassinated by a troop of King Henry’s henchmen.

In conclusion, Becket goes through an epiphany in which he realises his rise to power was given to him by God so Becket could protect the honor of God. Becket sets his mind that he will do as God instructs him to as the new archbishop of Canterbury and protect his honor. In the end though Becket gives his life to God’s honor as he was killed following the path that God guided him on.
Group Four:
The author uses the imagery of “sport” and “game” throughout the play. Using examples from each act, explain the significance of this symbolism specifically.

Throughout the play, Becket, the sport of hunting and the game which is caught during hunting is used as symbols. The sport of hunting is used to symbolise many different ideas. During hunting when the human catches a wild animal there are many symbols of power and strength but when it is the human being caught there are many symbols of weakness. Throughout the play there are many examples of King Henry, Becket, and even the Baron’s using hunting or the game in which they are after as a symbol.

Becket first uses hunting as a symbol when he says, “I prefer to feel a wild boar on the end of my spear. When he turns and charges there’s a moment of delicious personal contact when one feels, at last, responsible for oneself” (16). This symbolises the power the sport of hunting make Becket feel. When he has full control of the animals life he feels a power unlike no other where he believes he can truly fend for himself. The 4th Baron also uses hunting as a symbol for power. He says, “animals know more than men do, nearly always, but a man has something in him that an animal hasn’t got: he knows how to wait” (40). The Baron symbolises power with this quote because he is saying no matter how smart someone is, eventually he will have them. For an animal he says no matter how smart the animal is at hiding, eventually he will kill that beast. In conclusion, the Baron states that he is strong enough that no matter who he is up against he will win in time. The King later uses the game he always hunted as a symbol for himself feeling week when he says, “this creature tearing at my guts” (72). What King Henry is referring to is that he feels like the animals he always used to hunt and out power have gained control over him. He feels like he no longer he has the control he once had over others. Lastly King Henry uses the sport hunting as a symbol when Becket asks him how much hunting he has done lately and he responds by saying, “every day! And it doesn’t amuse me any more” (98). This quote shows that all the power and wealth Henry has gained over time is not amusing to him anymore. King Henry no longer is amused of going up the ladder of power because he has everything now. He no longer enjoys just getting what he wants and controlling everyone he comes connects paths with.

To sum it up, there are many instances where the sport of hunting and the game that is being hunted is used as symbols in the play, Becket. Hunting is used to symbolise the power people feel no matter if they feel on top of everyone or helpless. Hunting is used to represent King Henry when he is at his top along when he feels like there is nothing left for him to do. In conclusion, hunting and game are major symbols used throughout the play, Becket.

Group Five:
We said that an overarching theme in the play is that of the “illusion of control.” Explain this idea and its significance using specific evidence from each act.

Throughout the play, Becket, one of the major underlying themes was the illusion of control. In this play you witness a battle everyone fights in their life; a battle for control. Control is seeked by almost every individual for many reasons such as it gives them certainty in what the future holds, gives them the feeling of being over others, as well as just to keep everything in order as the like it. The illusion of control is seen in many cases throughout Becket through the characters of King Henry and Becket.

An early example of the character Becket referencing his love for control comes when he says, “I prefer to feel a wild boar on the end of my spear” (16). This quote shows one of the main reasons in why people seek control which is to feel as if you control others and what happens with their life. In this quote Becket talks about how he loves the feeling of killing a wild boar due to the pleasure it gives him knowing he was in charge of not only his life but was also in full control of the life of another creature. Another example of Becket showing his desire for control comes when he “gives them his ring to kiss” (75). This quote talks about how Becket makes the Baron’s great him by kissing his ring. Beckets ring symbolises his power and wealth that the Baron’s would die for. Becket again in this quote gives himself the pleasure of feeling as if he has control over another life as he uses his great amount of wealth to make people bow to him as he looks over them. King Henry also shows an illusion of control as he says, “we went in hand in hand to conquer, pillage and ransom England. We quarrel, we try to cheat each other of a penny or two” (52). From Henry’s words it is easy to see he looks to rule over everyone without anyone having enough power to contest him. Henry lives to take control over the lives of those who look up to him and will not give up until he has everyone serving like they need him to survive. Although these two characters have strived for total control their whole life, at the end of the play it is shown that total control is not what's truly desired. This is seen when King Henry talks about hunting and how he has all the greatest hunting tools and says he hunts “every day! And it doesn’t amuse me any more” (98). This shows as everyone strives for control once you get there and you no longer have to work for things it is no longer worth striving for. One thing Henry has always loved is the power he feels as he takes down an animal. But as he gains more hunting equipment to make his job easier he no longer has the illusion that control will lead to happiness but that working hard to meet your goals is what brings the true happiness.

To sum it up, everyone starts their life looking to be at the top. Demonstrated in the play, Becket, King Henry and Becket show their desires to have power and control over others and the illusion of control is their greatest desire. But in the end, King Henry shows control over everything you want takes away the excitement in life that hard work brings.