Absolutism In Macbeth

The Fault in our Roots From the Garden of Eden with the sinful temptations of the devil, to the rose in the Beauty in the Beast urging Adam to find love, nature continually acts as a motivator in the relationship between plants and character development throughout popular works of literature. William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Macbeth follows the protagonist Macbeth as he progresses from a cowardly individual to a depraved ruler. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses plant imagery to display the trajectory of monarchal power, exemplifying the cyclical nature of absolutism. Through the mention of metaphorical seeds, Shakespeare foreshadows the advancement and atrophy of Macbeth’s power. After the witches’ prophecies, Banquo implores, “If

After hearing a prophecy of his seemingly impossible downfall spoken by the third apparition, Macbeth proclaims “That will never be/ Who can impress the forest, bid the tree/ Unfix his earth-bound root?”(IV, i, 98-100) The absurdity of the forest moving reassures Macbeth that the throne will always be his. However, this foreshadowed protest from the natural world exemplifies that even the most basic forms of life oppose Macbeth’s rule, signifying the world’s desire for the rightful heir. On the road to the castle Lennox proclaims “To dew the sovereign flower and drown the weeds./ Make we our march towards Birnam” (V, ii, 32-33). Weeds take nutrients from the land preventing others from growing, representing the consequences of the oppressive rule Macbeth imposes: the loss of public support. In addition, the sovereign flower represents Malcolm who has the rightful claim to the throne and the dew, the support for reinstating Malcolm. At the resolution of the play, after Macduff kills Macbeth, Malcolm proclaims, “What's more to do,/ Which would be planted newly with the time,/ As calling home our exiled friends abroad/ That fled the snares of watchful tyranny” (V, viii, 78-82). Shakespeare once again returns to the beginning of a plant's cycle. The mention of planting, refers to the re-emergence of monarchal power and absolutism as Malcolm’s claim to the throne was

Despite living under and receiving funding from absolutists, this famous playwright’s work still includes consequences from an oppressive regime. Shakespeare’s subtle assessment conveyed through plant imagery exemplifies his introspective view of human nature; by reinventing plots with human flaws, Shakespeare stays relevant into the 21st century, and is deemed one of the greatest English playwrights of all