Natural Order in "Macbeth"
             In "Macbeth", Shakespeare dramatises the problem of natural order in several ways. The main topic of the play is the succession to the throne; once Macbeth breaks this tradition, driven by supernatural evil forces represented by the witches' prophecies, natural order is also ruptured. The author then uses a variety of topics to illustrate what has happen. Certain imagery of darkness, blood and natural chaos appear on stage. In Elizabethan and Jacobean society, everything had a God-ordained place in a great grading system known as the great chain of being that took into account everything from the angels through man to the animal and plant kingdom. A break in this chain of being (such as the assassination of a king) upset the order of the universe and created chaos. This chain was certainly something Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote this play.
             After the murder of Duncan , Macbeth, who until then, was considered an agent of order and thus was described with words such as "noble and loyal," becomes an agent of disorder and now he is described with words such as "dark" and "devilish." During those times, the king's position derived from God and not from the people's consent; therefore, only God had to power to depose the king. In Scotland the king was elected by a group of kinsmen, this often led to assassination when a potential successor to the throne chose a favourable moment to make himself prominent. The murder of Duncan changed this tradition as after the beginning of Act III, no one mentions the Scottish principle of electing the king, most of the characters seem to assume primogeniture: in England Malcolm appears to see himself as his father's heir; Macduff goes to England to persuade Malcolm to return as king. He says nothing about Malcolm's having to be elected. When persuaded of Malcolm "wickedness" he declare...