corruption of nature

• What did Jacobean audiences believe about the world's structure?

  A set structure according to God's plan
• According to Jacobean audiences, what did any disruption to the world signify?

  Disruption to God's ordained order
• What concept did Jacobean audiences believe in that asserted God's authority?

  The Great Chain of Being
• What also served as a social hierarchy with kings above lords?

  The Great Chain of Being
• In the Jacobean social order, who was above women?

  Men
• What corrupting influence seeks to undermine the Great Chain of Being?

  The witches
• What was believed to be caused by disruption to the Great Chain of Being?

  Chaos
• What act disrupts the Great Chain of Being in the play?

  The regicide of King Duncan
• What disrupts the Great Chain of Being when Macbeth becomes king?

  He was not chosen by God
• What is the disruption to the Great Chain of Being with Lady Macbeth?

  A woman dominating Macbeth
• What unnatural occurrences are consequences of the disruption to the Great Chain of Being?

  • Storms the night of Duncan’s murder
  • An earthquake (described in Act II, Scene III)
  • An owl killing a falcon
  • Duncan’s horses eating each other
  • The day being as dark as night (all described in Act II, Scene IV)
• According to the text, what is Shakespeare suggesting about disrupting the Great Chain of Being?

  Consequences are serious for the whole world
• What is the state of the play's ending that suggests the chaos is over?

  Restoration of order
• Who becomes monarch at the end of the play, restoring order?

  Malcolm
• What is the term for the divinely sanctioned arrangement of the world, according to Jacobean audiences?

  God's ordained order
• In the Jacobean social hierarchy, which figures were positioned above peasants?

  Kings and lords
• What do the witches seek to do by being a corrupting influence?

  Undermine the Great Chain of Being
• In what Act and Scene is the earthquake described?

  Act II, Scene III
• What is a general consequence of disrupting the Great Chain of Being in the play?

  Instability of the Kingdom of Scotland