Shakespeare's Macbeth presents a chilling depiction of a universe thrown into chaos by an act of profound unnaturalness: regicide. The play is deeply rooted in the Elizabethan concept of the Great Chain of Being, a hierarchical structure that posited a divinely ordained order extending from God down to the lowest forms of life. Within this framework, the king occupied a crucial position, his authority a reflection of God's on Earth. Macbeth's murder of King Duncan, therefore, was not merely a political assassination; it was a sacrilegious disruption of this cosmic order, leading to a cascade of unnatural events and moral decay that mirrors the unravelling of the Chain itself.
The initial disturbance of the Chain begins with the witches' prophecies and Macbeth's ambitious response. These supernatural beings, existing outside the natural order, whisper promises of power that prey on Macbeth's inherent desire. The very act of contemplating regicide—a crime against God, nature, and the state—marks a step away from natural law. Macbeth's internal struggle, detailed in his soliloquies before killing Duncan, shows his awareness of the transgression. He understands that Duncan is "here in double trust," not only as his sovereign but as a guest, and that the murder will violate "deep damnation of his taking off." This recognition highlights the inherent wrongness of his intent within the established moral and cosmic order. His decision to proceed, however, demonstrates the corrupting influence of ambition when it overrides natural allegiance and divine sanction.
Following Duncan's murder, the Chain of Being visibly fractures, manifesting in a series of unnatural occurrences. Shakespeare uses these to signal the world's disorder. The night of the murder is described by Old Man as "unruly," with "a falcon, tow'ring in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd." This inversion of the natural predator-prey relationship, where the owl, a creature of darkness and less power, preys on the falcon, a symbol of nobility and strength, directly reflects the unnaturalness of Macbeth's ascent to the throne. Furthermore, Duncan's horses, "Beauteous and swift, the servants of the mud," are reported to have "eaten each other." This bestial cannibalism among creatures that naturally serve man signifies a complete breakdown of natural instinct and order. These events are not random; they are cosmic tremors, announcing that the natural, divinely ordained hierarchy has been violently broken.
Macbeth's reign, marked by paranoia and further bloodshed, becomes a prolonged period of unnatural rule. Having seized power through an act that defied natural and divine law, he must constantly enforce his will through terror. The natural order of loyalty and governance is replaced by fear. Lady Macbeth, initially a driving force behind the regicide, also suffers the consequences of this disruption. Her descent into madness, symbolized by her compulsive hand-washing in an attempt to cleanse the "damned spot" of Duncan's blood, illustrates the psychological torment that follows the violation of natural purity. Her inability to sleep and her tormented sleepwalking reveal a mind plagued by guilt and the awareness of having participated in an act that has fundamentally disturbed the universe's equilibrium.
Ultimately, the play argues that the violation of the Great Chain of Being, particularly at its apex with the killing of a divinely appointed king, leads to a disintegration of moral, social, and natural order. Macbeth's tyrannical rule, characterized by constant suspicion and violence, breeds only more violence and despair. The restoration of order, therefore, requires not just the removal of the usurper but the symbolic re-establishment of the divinely sanctioned hierarchy. Malcolm, Duncan's rightful heir, is eventually recognized and supported by the natural forces of order, represented by the English army and the Scottish lords who were previously suppressed. His ascent to the throne, marked by a return to natural governance and the healing of Scotland, signifies the re-tying of the broken links in the Great Chain of Being, restoring the universe to its proper alignment.