Corruption of Nature

• • Unnatural or morally wrong actions can have adverse effects on the natural order
  • Jacobean beliefs were grounded in the Great Chain of Being. This hierarchy extended to social distinctions (Men above Women)
• Moral Disruption:

  • Actions that are morally corrupt were believed to upset the moral order
  • Macbeth reflects on the irreversibility of his actions
  • He is unable to cleanse himself from that moral disruption
  • "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? Act 2 Scene 2
• Consequences in Nature:

  • These repercussions manifest in unnatural phenomena
  • Shakespeare depicts disturbances in the natural world to reflect the imbalances caused by this unnatural act
  • "By the clock day, And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp." Ross - Act 2 Scene 4
  • This portrays a disruption in the natural order
• Social Hierarchy

  • Overthrow of a king or the inversion of gender rates was seen as corrupting the established structure
  • Macbeth interrupts the natural order of succesion
  • Lady Macbeth reverses traditional gender roles
• Characters:

  • Macbeth
  • Moral character becomes corrupted
  • Lady Macbeth
  • Desire to override her feminine nature
  • The witches
  • Prophecies manipulate the natural order
  • Macduff
  • Seeks to restore the rightful order of nature
• Divine Retribution

  • The corruption of nature led to divine retribution
  • Macbeth's troubled conscience reflects the moral consequences of his actions