Macbeth Case

The greater the powers, the better the literature

In Elizabethan England people truly believed that the king was chosen by God to be his representative on Earth. Although the play is not set in Elizabethan time but in eleventh century Scotland, the play does fulfil the expectations of an Elizabethan audience. After the failed attempt to overthrow James I in the gunpowder plot, the play of Macbeth shows the consequences of a kings unnatural death and through the use of nature, clothing imagery and animal imagery Shakespeare expresses the divine powers of the King and makes Macbeth a literary work.

Firstly, Shakespeare’s use of nature to portray the divine powers of the king make Macbeth a literary work. It is shown in the play the nature is acting strangely, things happen that are not normal. This is shown in the comments that the old man makes on the events of that night in Act 2, Scene 4. He has lived “three score and ten” and “this sore night hath trifled former knowing”, meaning he has never in his long life seen “that darkness does the face of Earth entomb”. Also, Duncan’s horses were acting unnatural, as they “turned wild in their nature” and “they ate each other”. All of this has to do with the way nature is used to express the fact that a king has such divine powers.

Secondly, the feature of clothing imagery to express that the king is God’s representative on Earth make the play a literary work. To show that a king cannot just be replaced Shakespeare uses clothing to show Macbeth is not fit as a king. His new title is as “a giants robe upon a dwarfish thief”. This means the responsibility is too big for Macbeth.

What is also too big is the crown that Macbeth puts on his head, yet another thing that belonged to the rightful king.

Thirdly, by using animal imagery to show the king’s the divine powers, Shakespeare