The Chain Of Being And Order In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

Written in the 17th century, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth validates the notion that a crime committed against the king is equally a violation of the natural order of the world. Shakespeare explores the tension between the chain of being and order by incorporating supernatural and psychological events into the play. Supernatural events befall after Duncan's death, such as an eclipse and animals acting curiously. Shakespeare exhibits that disloyalty to the king results in the rupture of the natural world. Moreover, deception towards the king triggers hallucinations, remorse and insomnia. These psychological events are represented through characters such as Macbeth. Although, when natural order has been disrupted, it can be restored once again by establishing the rightful successor to the throne. This affirms the idea that

Shakespeare's play was derived from the idea of the chain of being; a hierarchical structure that ranks every living being or creature. If the structure were to be disrupted it would result in supernatural chaos. Shortly after Macbeth murders Duncan, Lady Macbeth reveals hearing the “owl scream” and the “crickets cry”, noises that are said to be bad omens. There were omens that represented the current situation between Macbeth and Duncan, “A falcon” was “hawk’d at and kill’d” by an owl. The owl represents Macbeth and the hawk, Duncan. Animal behaviour wasn’t the only part of nature that was disrupted. Ross recounts the “Dark night” and points out the changed weather and a darkness that fell over Scotland. He describes that Scotland, his “mother” country, was now a hellish “grave” under the rule of Macbeth. Shakespeare utilises the motif of nature to symbolise the world's deterioration. Shakespeare implements this to convey the supernatural consequences of violating the chain of being and committing a crime against the