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Name Class Title Date Paper Title (Nature’s Mirror) Essay Prompt: Explain how and why Shakespeare uses nature in Macbeth. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is set in medieval Scotland, when people still believed in an ancient concept called the Great Chain of Being. According to this belief, God places everything, both living and non-living, in a strict and specific natural order, and breaking this order is a violation of nature’s organization and, more importantly, God’s will. On one level, Macbeth is a story about the consequences of one man’s breaking the natural order by killing the rightful king, Duncan, and taking his throne by force. Throughout the story, Shakespeare uses images of unnatural animal behaviors, disturbed nature in turmoil, and light and dark to emphasize the dark and unnatural consequences of breaking the Great Chain of Being, which helps Comments Note how the writer mentions the title (italicized for a play) and author early in the essay. Note how the writer sets a clear context for his argument. Note how the thesis statement is clear, specific, insightful, and clearly responds to both parts of the essay prompt. reinforce the morality of the play. At the beginning of the play, the natural balance and order of the world is in check. When the bloody captain gives a report to Duncan about the state of the war with Norway, the captain sarcastically remarks that a “fresh assault…Dismayed…our captains, Macbeth and Banquo…as sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion” (I.2.36-39). Valiant warriors are compared to noble creatures like an eagle and lion, both of which exist at the top of the natural hierarchy of animals. Duncan later congratulates Macbeth and Banquo, and compares their blossoming Note how the topic sentence of this paragraph presents a clear and thesis-related argument. Note how smoothly the writer includes quotes from the text (clearly setting the speaker and context of the quote). friendship as a harvest to be planted (I.4.31-37); such is the natural order of loyal thanes defending God-appointed kings. Later Banquo compliments the beauty of Inverness as he approaches Macbeth’s castle by calling the air “heaven’s breath” that “Smells wooingly here”—so much so that a bird “Hath made his pendant bed and procreant cradle” there (I.6.6-9). The atmosphere is so Note how all of the details included in this paragraph support the topic sentence. warm and inviting, according to Banquo, that birds make their nests near Inverness, which is an innocent and wholesome natural image that suggests goodness and stability. Once the unnatural, bearded witches, who “look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ earth And yet are on ‘t” (I.3.42-43), encounter Macbeth and tell him his future, however, Macbeth complains about a “horrid image [that] doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs Against the use of nature” (I.3.148-150). This is his internal struggle against his own nature, but it does not take long for the Note how the author brings this body paragraph to a clear conclusion and smoothly transitions into the next body paragraph. natural world to react to the twisted and evil deeds to come. Shakespeare uses images of unnatural behavior and circumstances to reflect the chaos of Macbeth’s disordering of the Great Chain of Being, specifically on the night of Again, note how this second topic sentence is clear, specific, and related to the thesis statement. Duncan’s murder. Ross and the Old Man converse about the strangeness of that night. The Old Man claims he has “seen Hours dreadful and things strange, but this sore night Hath trifled former knowings” (II.4.2-5). Ross then explains that the night was darker than usual, with a darkness that Note how strong the development of this essay is, with its wealth of strong details to support clear insights. “strangles the traveling lamp” (II.4.9). The darkness overwhelms any forms of light or goodness, including the sun. The Old Man goes on to say that “’Tis unnatural, Even like the deed that’s done…A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place, Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed” (II.4.13-16). The entire food chain has been reversed, with owls, the prey of falcons, now becoming the predator. Meanwhile, “Duncan’s horses… Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out, Contending ‘gainst obedience” (II.4.18-21). This metaphor for Macbeth shows nature revolting against the unnatural deed he has done. Lennox also reports that: The night has been unruly. Where we lay Our chimneys were blown down and, as they say, Lamentings heard I’ th’ air, strange screams of death… The obscure bird Clamored the livelong night. Some say the earth Was feverous and did shake. (II.3.61-69) Note how this block quote is formatted: No quotation marks, indented on both sides of the page, with a period before the intext citation. This night’s abnormal peculiarity was not a coincidence; nature was revolting against a crime committed against it. The Great Chain was breached by Macbeth’s murderous plot, and these strange events are the outcome of this disordering. Nature has been disturbed, and hence more unnatural behaviors and situations will follow, including the earth pushing the dead back to life in the form of Banquo’s ghost. As Macbeth breaks down the order of the Great Chain, images of lightness and darkness in the play represent the resulting imbalance between good and evil. Generally, light signifies order and goodness while darkness represents disorder and evil. King Duncan, the person of highest order on Earth in the Chain, speaks of his son Malcolm, the natural heir to the At the end of each body paragraph, the writer clearly ties the important ideas together and connects them to the thesis statement. And again, this topic sentence sets up something clear and specific to prove, and everything in this paragraph is focused on supporting this topic sentence. throne, as someone with “signs of nobleness, like stars, [that] shall shine on all deservers” (I.4.4748). Both Duncan and his son, as divine nobility, fit within the correct order and are thus compared to stars and light. Macbeth, on the other hand, asks the stars to “hide [their] fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires” (I.4.57-58). The contrast between light and dark is obvious here, and the light will not be restored until Malcolm is restored as Scotland’s king. Lady Macbeth calls for “thick night” and “the dunnest smoke of hell” to surround her and her twisted schemes (I.5.57-59) while her husband later says “Come, seeling night, Scarf up the tender eye of Again, really strong quotes are smoothly integrated into the essay. pitiful day And with thy bloody and invisible hand Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond Which keeps me pale” (III.2.52-56). The witches themselves are called “instruments of darkness,” and their unnatural ability to tell the future paves the path to death and destruction in the play (I.3.136). Shakespeare makes his moral position clear by using imagery of light and dark The writer has obviously proofread the essay; the grammar is clear and correct. Moreover, these sentences show variety in structure. throughout the play. Under the theory of the Great Chain of Being, there is a natural order dictated by God. In Macbeth Shakespeare uses nature as a mirror to explore this order and the dire consequences of breaking it, and we learn that it is impossible to break the order permanently. Macbeth becomes king only temporarily and is ultimately killed as order is restored—interestingly enough, but what seems to be an unnatural event: Birnam Wood marching up Dunsinane Hill, which is almost like nature leads the war against Macbeth (not to mention Macduff’s unnatural birth through Cesarean The conclusion summarizes the main points of the essay and attempts to explain why the main idea of the essay matters. The conclusion does not merely cut-and-paste the thesis statement, but enhances the argument. section—which suggests that one unnatural deed takes another to correct itself). Shakespeare uses animals, both natural and unnnatural events, and images of light and dark to emphasize that the order is naturally everywhere and in every thing, and nature will respond to any attack on it with a vengeance. The essay ends with a strong and memorable statement.