Eliot’s Treatment of the Chorus: A Steady Logical Structure (1) The Rock and Murder in the Cathedral Case in Point

ABSTRACT:This study is an investigative method on Thomas Stearns Eliot’s multipart theatrical development and progress in the use of a very ancient dramatic technique. It is the implementation of the chorus in his dramas. The paper is an attempt to shed light on the way Eliot employs the technique of the chorus into his plays. The study tries to track the procedure of Eliot in applying the chorus in his plays, tracing the development he reached with particular reference to The Rock and Murder in the Cathedral as Case in Point and as an imitation of the ancient Greek style and device. It equally, sheds light on the traditional Greek dramas from which Eliot hunted his themes. The study -analytically and critically – starts with an introduction on Eliot and his theory on the chorus. Then the task moves ahead to deal with the usage of the chorus in The Rock. After that, the work shifts to the second point that investigates the play Murder in the Cathedral and to be followed by the conclusion.
KEYWORDS: ancient technique, drama, plays, twentieth century, T. S. Eliot