According to the Elizabethan world view, life is governed by a rigid and God-ordained natural order known as the Great Chain of Being. Every aspect of his creation, whether animate or inanimate, tangible or intangible, has its own distinctive place within this hierarchy. It is therefore believed that any interference with this order is a direct violation of nature’s organization and, above all, an act of sacrilegious insubordination towards God’s will. At the top of mankind’s social order lies the monarch, who is given the right to reign over his realm without condition through the decree of God. As a result, any attempt to unseat or undermine the authority of the king is seen as defiance against God Himself, the sole creator of this ordered
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In the beginning of the play, Macbeth introduces chaos into the realm as he dethrones its divinely-ordained king and becomes a tyrant who transgresses all moral boundaries to maintain his power. When Macduff presents the head of Macbeth to Malcolm as proof of his death, he says “Behold where stands / The usurper’s cursed head. The time is free. / I see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s pearl, / That speaks my salutation in their minds (Macbeth 5.8.54-57). This illustrates how the subjects collectively believe that killing Macbeth is the only way to re-establish a balance in nature since he is the mortal who desecrated order through his actions. In the ultimate form of celestial vengeance, Macbeth is beheaded so that his corruption can be purged from Scotland through the law of retaliation. Once he is unseated, Malcolm claims the throne as the rightful king and restores the natural order in society. Because he is the heir of Duncan, who was a consecrated ruler, and has not violated nature to attain this position, Malcolm is decreed by God to serve as the head of the kingdom. In his final speech, he says “And what needful else / That calls upon us, by the grace of Grace / We will perform in measure, time, and place (Macbeth 5.8.71-73). His statement reaffirms that it is only under the guidance of a God-ordained and compassionate king that Scotland can be restored to the peaceful nation it once was. With the downfall of Macbeth and Malcolm’s subsequent ascension to the throne, the natural and moral orders of the universe are reinstated as chaos is
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth introduces chaos into the realm as he dethrones its divinely-ordained king and becomes a tyrant who transgresses all moral boundaries to maintain his power. When Macduff presents the head of Macbeth to Malcolm as proof of his death, he says “Behold where stands / The usurper’s cursed head. The time is free. / I see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s pearl, / That speaks my salutation in their minds (Macbeth 5.8.54-57). This illustrates how the subjects collectively believe that killing Macbeth is the only way to re-establish a balance in nature since he is the mortal who desecrated order through his actions. In the ultimate form of celestial vengeance, Macbeth is beheaded so that his corruption can be purged from Scotland through the law of retaliation. Once he is unseated, Malcolm claims the throne as the rightful king and restores the natural order in society. Because he is the heir of Duncan, who was a consecrated ruler, and has not violated nature to attain this position, Malcolm is decreed by God to serve as the head of the kingdom. In his final speech, he says “And what needful else / That calls upon us, by the grace of Grace / We will perform in measure, time, and place (Macbeth 5.8.71-73). His statement reaffirms that it is only under the guidance of a God-ordained and compassionate king that Scotland can be restored to the peaceful nation it once was. With the downfall of Macbeth and Malcolm’s subsequent ascension to the throne, the natural and moral orders of the universe are reinstated as chaos is