Broken Chain In Macbeth

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Recommended: Symbolism used in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare the main character Macbeth drastically changes throughout the play and we are able to see these changes and we chose some symbols to explain his complex character arch of development. The first symbol we chose was a broken chain. In our character collage the broken chain conveys the important theme and hierarchical structure throughout Macbeth, The Great Chain of Being. Throughout the play, consumed by his deep desire and selfishness to gain the crown and power, Macbeth’s action for his ambition had caused disorder an uproar on The Great Chain of Being. After the planned regicide of both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth was done, unnatural events occur. These events include solar eclipse, a weaker …show more content…

We chose to incorporate Macbeth’s growing fear towards kingship through the symbol of a baby with a crown. The baby with a crown represents the character that is Banquo’s son, Fleance. The crown on the baby’s head exemplifies the kingship that is truly his, not Macbeth’s. The comical part about this symbol is that Macbeth fears a young kid who is most likely a more mature ruler than Macbeth himself. That goes to show just how paranoid Macbeth has become since killing King Duncan. The third prophecy states that Banquo’s descendants will have kingship in the future, so Macbeth automatically assumes that Fleance is the one that is destined to be King. In that, Macbeth sets off to attempt to kill Banquo and Fleance in hopes of eliminating all chances of anyone else taking over the crown. Macbeth is successful in killing Banquo, but Fleance is able to escape the cruel murder. Fleance escaping engraves the third prophecy once and for all into Macbeth’s head, which accomplices in his growing insanity. We chose to display Macbeth’s shattered confidence through the symbol of a broken sword but it only has another meaning, it also displays Macbeth’s inability to fight Macduff. This symbol is also a representation of Macbeth being slain because a dead man does not need a sword since he can longer

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