The Rock Christ, Church & World in T. S. Eliot’s 1934 pageant: ‘The Rock’

In this article we shortly introduce T. S. Eliot, noting some major themes he addresses, particularly in relation to religious faith and the search for meaning in life. In the second and third sections our article concentrates on the 1934 church pageant, called ‘The Rock’. This drama was only published once and is hard to find. However, the poetry Eliot included in the drama, called ‘Choruses from The Rock’, have been reprinted and included in various volumes so that these are readily available. But among those people who have read some or all of the ten Choruses from The Rock, very few have ever found a copy of the play in which these poems were situated.1 We present quotations from the ten choruses, with a few annotations at times concerning the context. In the fourth section we look at various aspects of Eliot’s Christology as found in The Rock. Eliot’s view is that Christ is the Light of the World, revealing divine action in history, which contrasts with human ideologies and provides a different life meaning. I make use of some references to Paul Tillich because like Eliot, he emphasizes the ambiguity of faith and life, church and world.