Motif Of Nature In Macbeth

263 Words1 Page

Through the motif of nature in disorder, Shakespeare suggests in Macbeth, that murdering innocent people has dire consequences; he shows this through nature’s reactions to the murders committed by Macbeth, and his ruling as king. Macbeth’s murders disrupt the natural world. After the slaughter king Duncan, the order in natural world was severely disturbed so much so that: “A falcon, towering in her pride of place,/ Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed” (II.ii.15-16). A falcon is a much larger and stronger bird than a mere mousing owl, and therefore should never have been killed by one. A falcon being killed by a mousing owl, demonstrates how nature’s hierarchy had been overturned. Macbeth’s murders affected the natural world so deeply

Open Document