The Great Chain Of Being In Shakespeare's Macbeth

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The tragedy of Macbeth has been called one of Shakespeare’s most dark, experimental, and intellectual plays that delve into the dark parts of ambition, guilt, and emotion. Another belief that is largely portrayed in Macbeth is the great chain of being, it is the belief that everything in this world has it’s “place” and disrupting this chain will come with dire consequences. The reason Shakespeare uses the great chain of being in Macbeth is to show that because Macbeth broke the great chain of being, it warped and demonized his character. The examples to show that Macbeth breaking the great chain of being made him who he was towards the end of play are, once Macbeth broke the great chain of being, prophecies from the witches began to rule and …show more content…

Even moments before the killing he became so paranoid, he started to hallucinate. Macbeth states in this quote, “Is this a dagger which I see before me,The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?”(Shakespeare, 33-39) His perception of reality has become so warped that he is hallucinating a dagger leading him to King Duncan’s chambers. This clearly shows that he has became so stricken with paranoia that is has warped his reality. An article tells how Macbeth’s paranoia has destroyed his sanity, it says that, “Macbeth shows several symptoms of paranoia schizophrenia: hallucinations, delusions, anxiety, violence and patronizing behavior. Hallucinations are sensory perceptions that have no basis in reality. Macbeth hallucinates more than once, the first time when he saw the dagger leading him to murder Duncan” Macbeth has clearly shown all these symptoms throughout the poem and this is clear evidence that paranoia has destroyed his mind. This lack of reality in Macbeth’s life has caused him to become a cold and emotionless …show more content…

Macbeth has let the dark evil known as the witches corrupt him and guide him down the path of evil, Macbeth knows there is no turning back now and he can only move forward. All in all Macbeth’s character and core personality was ultimately distorted by the witches and his breaking of the great chain of being. Every change in Macbeth’s personality was because of his breaking of the great chain of being. These are all examples that when Macbeth broke the cycle of the great chain of being he became cold and unfeeling, the prophecies given to him ruled his every action, and his tainted conscience caused him to trust no one. It is extremely clear that his actions that disrupted the flow of the great chain of being flung him deeper into the darkness and evil that consumed his

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