King Henry II approaches and kneels at the tomb of his friend, Thomas Becket, in Canterbury Cathedral. He removes his cloak and is naked. The King explains that he is waiting to be flogged by the monks as punishment for his role in Becket’s assassination. Becket appears in a vision and tells the King that they were “like two deaf men talking” (2) who never understood each other. Becket disappears, and the King reflects that he, a Norman, must win the confidence of the Saxon population by making peace with the memory of Becket, whom they regard as a saint and martyr.

The King recalls the “happy times” he and Becket enjoyed together as young men. As he does so, the narrative moves into a flashback. The audience is now in the King’s room many years earlier. Becket, a fashionable and worldly young nobleman who serves as a church deacon and is the King’s best friend, rubs the King’s back and helps him dress. Becket explains that his parents, who were Saxons, were able to keep their land by “collaborating” with the occupying Normans, notably Henry’s father. As a result, Becket’s father became wealthy, and Becket adopted a luxurious and pleasure-loving lifestyle.