What the Play is About

Abstract

In the play we are faced with an heroic denial of the primacy of this material world, a stance which culminates in a violent murder. Different views of this central event are portrayed in contrast. Thomas’s own interpretation of his death is that it serves God’s purpose. The Knights grapple with their own non-comprehension, and argue that the death is suicide, the failure to seize the opportunities life offers. It is significant that when the time comes to react to the murder the Chorus speak the language of the Te Deum; the Knights speak in terms of the latest thriller (II.547), a form reflected in the ironic title of the play. The Chorus have moved from tentative weakness and failure to a consciousness of power and a far greater reality.