Macbeth and the Erosion of the Great Chain of Being

Life on earth has flourished for millions of years through acts of cooperation and interdependence. The Greeks were the first to describe this collaboration of beings and the divine through an organized hierarchy of universal placement called The Great Chain of Being. This hierarchy places beings in order of most important to least important, depending on their role in the universe. According to the concept of the Chain, every being has its place in the universe, and to depart from one’s duty would be to deny ones nature, which brings disorder and chaos. Knowing the consequences, Shakespeare’s Macbeth slowly and deliberately erodes the Great Chain through his actions.

Macbeth’s first act of malevolence occurred when he killed King Duncan, and stole his throne. Nothing is more sinful in the Christian mind-set than destroying something good. Macbeth's first crime is the catalyst for future murders and the decay of the court and kingdom. It also signifies what Macbeth is willing to do in order to perceive the illusion of power. "There 's daggers in men's smiles". - (Act II, Sc. III). But Macbeth isn’t being influenced to conduct these heinous crimes by his corrupt mind alone, his wife also acts upon the three witches’ prophecy with a more deliberate mind set.

The more deaths for which Macbeth is responsible, the more mayhem erupts throughout the kingdom. Evidence of the corroding of the Great Chain of Being appears through the frequent revolts and overall civil unrest plaguing Scotland. Horses are attacking other horses and eating their own stall mates; owls battle with hawks and win - the natural hierarchy instilled by God is weathering away as weaker animals overcome stronger ones. “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red" (Act II, Sc. II).

Macbeth is going insane as a result of having