Elizabethan world view and the Great Chain of Being

Elizabethan World View – the basics During Elizabethan times, people believed that everyone and everything was arranged in a certain order – a hierarchy It was this order, known as the Great Chain of Being, that was threatened by new and exciting discoveries in science and astronomy. Elizabethan World View – the basics

According to this idea, everything in the world had its position fixed by God: The Earth was the center of the universe and the stars moved around it in fixed routes.  In Heaven God ruled over the archangels and angels.  On earth there was order everywhere. Society reflected this order with its fixed classes from the highest to the lowest – kings, churchmen, nobles, merchants, and peasants.  The animals had their own order too, the lion being the “king”.  Plant life and minerals also reflected this order.  Among the trees, the most superior was the oak; among flowers, it was the rose. Among the minerals, gold was the most superior.

Star controllers of Destiny God Cherubs Archangels, Angels Star controllers of Destiny Moon King Church Princes Nobles Man Outside of chain: Nothingness/chaos Lion Other Animals Oak and Rose Other Plants Gold Other Minerals

The Chain of Being served to create social stability – everyone knew their place on the chain and interacted with the other levels: The people higher up on the chain were responsible to provide for or care/protect those below them The people lower down had a responsibility to obey and serve those above them

The Chain of Being world view created the beliefs and values for individuals and the society of Shakespeare’s time The chain was a transactional sort of system – “I do this for you if you do this for me” If someone in the chain doesn’t fulfill their responsibility they are considered to be ‘breaking the chain’ Any attempt to break the Chain of Being would upset the established order and bring about universal disorder

The Chain of Being represents the social order of the time. Anything that is outside the chain is considered to be chaos/nothingness/ madness/evil. Therefore, by implication, if the chain is broken the order in the world is broken, and it can descend into chaos. Nothingness, chaos, madness, evil – all of these things are outside the chain and are not considered to be made by God.

Everything within the chain is created by God. Therefore everything within the chain is good. Therefore there is no evil in the chain. As evil doesn’t exist within the chain, it can only enter if the chain is broken. It is essential that you understand the Chain of Being world view in order to understand the play.

The Divine Right of Kings It was believed that the King was divinely chosen by God. As God’s chosen representative on earth, the King was the supreme upholder of order on earth. If his position was violated it would destroy the perfect order in the universe and bring strife and chaos to the world. Any act of treason or treachery against the King was considered indirectly to be a mortal sin against God.  The penalty was death. The Divine Right of Kings

Questions 1. Recount the basic assumptions upon which the Elizabethans Worldview was founded.  2. What are the three basic orders of the universe? 3. What position should man occupy in this great organization? 4. Define “Great Chain of Being.”  Create a visual showing the construct of your personal “Great Chain of Being.” Feel free to be as creative and as interpretive as you like. Consider past examples in the classroom and think outside the box! You will have 2 minutes to present your “Great Chain of Being” to the class on __________.