Who did this theory of the chain start with? | The Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato, but adopted by Elizabethan England as a basic assumption of life. |
What did the Elizabethans believe God did? | God set out an order for everything in the universe, known as the Great Chain of Being. |
The order of the Great Chain of Being? | God and the angels at the top, to humans, to animals, to plants, to non-living objects, i.e rocks and minerals at the bottom. |
How is the order of the Great Chain of Being sorted? | It moves from beings of pure spirit at the top of the Chain to things made entirely of matter at the bottom. |
Why did the Elizabethans consider the monarchs important, with this aspect of context in mind? | They believed the king or queen was in charge because God put them there and they were only answerable to God (the Divine Right of Kings), |
To what extent where the Kings and Queens important? | Disobeying the monarch was a sin which was punishable and they believed that if the wrong person was monarch everything would go wrong for a country. |
What was God’s social order on Earth all about? | God created a social order for everybody and chose where you belonged because that was the place God had ordained for you |
Where would the Three Witches be placed on the Great Chain? | At the top as we know they aren’t human. |
How did the Macbeths disrupt the natural order? | Murdering the king which tampers with the Divine Right of Kings |
Where is it seen in the play the consequences of Macbeth’s actions by disrupting the social order? | His plummet in insanity – seeing Banquo’s Ghost, killing more people i.e, Lady Macduff and her children. |
Who was God’s chosen King? | Duncan |
Where is it seen in the play the Elizabethans belief that the right person, Duncan, as monarch, everything would go right for the country? | England winning the battle against Norway? |
Macbeth – Context: Religion/The Great Chain of Being
September 5, 2019