Macbeth's Downfall

Macbeth, written in 1611 by William Shakespeare reflects the God-ordained “chain of being” and its consequences when it is disrupted. The play focuses on the protagonist Macbeth and his consequences of killing King Duncan. Macbeth’s hamartia not only unleashed a universal disorder and created chaos upon Scotland, but also leads to his demise. Throughout the play, Shakespeare demonstrates the downfall of the protagonists - Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, as well as the effects on the Scotland society due to the disrupted natural order.

By killing Duncan, Macbeth disrupts the world’s natural order and confronts his downfall due to his ambition. He suffers from a mental anguish and is ultimately swallowed up by the consequences to his actions. This

No, this my hand will rather

The multitudinous seas incarnadine,

Making the green one red.” (Act 2, Scene 2)

Shakespeare uses the blood on Macbeth’s hands to symbolize the guilt within Macbeth, his inability to remove the blood on his hands suggests that the guilt will be everlasting. The ‘Neptune’s ocean’ reinforces the intensity of his guilt while allowing the audience to understand that his guilt will continue to haunt him due to the disruption of the world’s order. An example of Macbeth being haunted by his guilt was revealed in the banquet scene, “…But now they rise again with twenty mortal murders on their crowns and push us from our stools. This is more strange Than such a murder is.” (Act 3, Scene 4)

This quote highlights Macbeth’s mental anguish and the loss of composure due to his hallucination of Banquo’s ghost as a result of disturbing the natural order. The two quotes reflect Macbeth’s strong sense of guilt and reinforces the consequences of Macbeth on disturbing the world’s natural

Shakespeare contrasts the change in mindset of Lady Macbeth throughout the play. Her power-hungry ambition was outlined as soon as she knows that Duncan will be the guest at her home, she asks the evil spirits to “unsex [her] here/and fill [her], form the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty!” (Act 1, Scene 5). The quotation conveys Lady Macbeth’s desperate desire for Macbeth to be king and she wishes to have pure cruelty so that she can commit the murder. Her ambition disrupted the absolutely ranked universe and as a result, she lost her sanity and ultimately her life. This is evident in Lady Macbeth’s sleep-walking scene; the doctor described Lady Macbeth’s heart as “sorely charged” and commanded to “remove from her means of all annoyance” (Act 5, Scene 1). This expresses how much guilt was in Lady Macbeth’s heart but also foreshadows her suicide later on in the play. Lady Macbeth’s change in mental state was exemplified throughout the two scenes, allowing the audience to understand that disrupting the world’s natural order may cost one’s downfall and