In Macbeth, Shakespeare shows how the
cosmic hierarchical order of nature, the social strata ("The Great Chain of Being"), and the
throne ("Divine Rite of Kings") is toppled by chaos, evil, death, and the
unnatural.
Scotland should be a Christian country where God and King
direct the thanes to defeat the forces of evil. In Act I, this is the case, as Macbeth and
Banquo, under Duncan's leadership, defeat Norway and Ireland.
But,
after Macbeth meets the witches, chaos begins. In Act II, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth commit the
worst crime imaginable: regicide. They kill God's Holy Vessel, and Scotland thereby suffers an
apocalypse. After this, signs and portents
follow:
- Attacks on children; infertility (no children
born to the Macbeths); murder of children (Macduff's son); attempted murder of Banquo's
son - Nature's revolt; earthquakes; violent storms; the bloody
heath; nature taking revenge on Macbeth (Birnham Wood attacks
Dunsenane)
- Animals revolt: animal kingdom's
hierarchy is inverted; horse's eat each other; the owl eats the
falcon
- Gruesome murders: of Macdonwald,
Duncan, Banquo, Macduff's family; Lady Macbeth's suicide; Macbeth's beheading (similar to
Macdonwald's) - Supernatural signs; Ghost (Banquo) haunting the
castle and signs of the future (bloody baby, the armed head); floating
dagger - No loyalty; witches becoming Macbeth's advisers instead of
loyal thanes; Macbeth killing his best friend Banquo - Time stops;
the past, present, and future disjointed; "Tomorrow, tomorrow, and
tomorrow..."
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