1. The Elizabethan Great Chain of Being
Shakespeare’s World View

2. The Great Chain of Being
Shakespeare’s language is different from ours because his thinking was different from ours, especially about nature and the order of the universe.

3. 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.

4. According to this idea, everything in the world had its position fixed by God:
The Earth was the centre 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.

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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 Macbeth

8. The Divine Right of Kings
Any attempt to break the Chain of Being would upset the established order and bring about universal disorder
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.

9. Elizabethan World Picture
(Pure Being)
(Intelligence) (Order)
(Reason)
(Motion, Sense)
(Growth)
(Mere Existence)
God
Angels Spheres
Man
Animals
Plants
Stones

10. Elizabethan World Picture
Angels
Spheres
Seraphim Cherubim Thrones Dominations Virtues Powers Principalities Archangels Angels
Primum Mobile Stars Saturn Jupiter Mars Sun Venus Mercury Moon
Elizabethan World Picture

11. Elizabethan World Picture
Man
Family
Emperor King Nobles/Churchmen Professions/Soldiers Trades Beggars Fool
Father Mother Eldest Brother . Youngest Sister
Elizabethan World Picture

12. Elizabethan World Picture
Animals
Animals(cont)
4-Leg
Lion
Fox
Wolf .
mole
2-Leg
Falcon
Fish
Dolphin/Whale
Insects
Bees
Ants .
worms
Inert Animals
Oysters, etc.
Elizabethan World Picture

13. Elizabethan World Picture
Plants
Stones
Fruits
Apples
Flowers
Rose
Trees
Oak
Vines
Herbs
Weeds
Liquids
Metals
Gold
Silver .
Lead
Stones
Elizabethan World Picture

14. Elizabethan World Picture
Body
Psychological
Head
Eye
________________
Arm
Trunk
Leg
Foot
Reason, Will Memory, Fancy Five Senses
Elizabethan World Picture

15. Element Humor
Fire (hot & dry) (choler)  “choleric” (easily angered) Air (hot & moist) (blood)  “sanguine” (cheerful, confident) Water (cold & moist) (phlegm)  “phlegmatic” (sluggish, apathetic) Earth (cold & dry) (black bile)  “melancholy” (sad, depressed)

16. Rules: Great Chain of Being
Everything has its place
God’s love holds it all together
When someone tries to get out of line, the whole order is thrown into confusion
Belief in the rightness of ORDER
Stating what a thing is implies its VALUE
Leads to comparison or analogy
A King could be called:
-God like -Gold
-Father of his land -Sun
-Head of his kingdom -Eagle
-Lion

17. Macbeth and the Chain of Being world view

18. The Witches
In the opening scenes we are introduced to the characters of the witches.
In Shakespeare’s time witches and witchcraft were believed to be evil – they were associated with the dark and death.
Witches were considered to be the agents of Satan, doing his business.
Witches were believed to be able to see into the future; that they could create storms, hail, thunder and lightning; that they could sink ships; dry up springs; stop the sun and change night into day and day into night.

19. As the witches are introduced in the opening scene, Shakespeare’s audience are immediately aware that the Chain of Being has been disrupted, as evil is present.
Shakespeare uses this as a device to get the audience involved in the play – remember, they believe in the Chain of Being world view, and so the witches are a sign to them that something is wrong.
The audience then looks for why the chain has been broken.
“When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” (Act 1, scene 1)