Murder in the Cathedral/Galileo by T. S. Eliot/Bertolt Brecht

The drama portrays conflicts in the mind of Thomas Becket as he awaits the violent end of his relationship with Henry II (1170). Murder in the Cathedral is a play T. S. Eliot wrote specifically for Canterbury Cathedral, for an audience of devout Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Students share many of the fears and foibles of the drama and indulge in the psychological machinations of Thomas Becket as portrayed by Eliot. Written in the 1930s, the drama challenges the audience to look at familiar events in new ways and examine the problem of good versus evil.

An exercise in expanded thought, Galileo deals with the scientific investigations of Galileo Galilei and his recantation of his theories in the face of the inquisition. Bertolt Brecht presents a person much like the ordinary inhabitant of Earth: inquisitive, somewhat sensuous, swayed by flattery, burdened by the need for money, challenged by the status quo, and the government of the time, and questioning the accepted tenets of society and knowledge. The drama invites the audience to decide what stand to take on matters of intellectual freedom, censorship, and revolution. Brecht’s play addresses issues of integrity, the definition of betrayal, one’s obligations to society, and more.

About the Series:

Novel/Drama curriculum units contain complete lesson plans with preliminary and follow-up work, teacher notes with plot summary, background, and rationale, ready-to-use worksheets, and suggested answers for student questions. These study guides encourage the development of thinking, reading, speaking, research, and writing skills as well as critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.