Lesson Plans

Instructional Block

Activator: Complete Reader’s Log entry for Act II, Scenes 3-4.

Mini Lesson: Describe the Elizabethan understanding of order in the universe, giving special attention to the concepts of “divine right of kings” and the “great chain of being.”

Learning Activity: Students will answer the following open response prompt: The morning after he murders Duncan, Macbeth is forced to deal with the arrival of Macduff, who has come to call upon the king. In the midst of the confusion following Macduff’s discovery of the dead Duncan, Macbeth struggles to keep himself above suspicion. Which of his actions at this time suggests a further deterioration of his character? Does this imply anything about his future? Provide relevant details from the scene to support your conclusions.

Wrap Up: Ticket to Leave: What are the three examples of the perversion of nature explicitly mentioned by Ross and the Old Man at the end of Act II, Scene 4?

Homework: Read and annotate Act III, Scenes 1-2.

The Great Chain of Being

The Great Chain of Being was a Christian idea that mapped out God’s natural hierarchy to the world and all its living creatures. Minerals and other inanimate things in nature were at the bottom of the chain, below plants, insects, and other “less noble” creatures. In the animal kingdom, mighty beasts like lions (especially admired in England and France as war heroes were often given appellations like “lion-hearted”), bears, and wolves reigned supreme. But humans undoubtedly ranked above the rest of the flora and fauna. The king—who was apparently God-chosen, according to absolute doctrines like the Divine Right of Kings—and clergy were the most important human beings. God, obviously, was at the very top of The Great Chain of Being. Since this holy chain was established by almighty and powerful God, it was considered sinful to disturb it and doing so would ultimately result in chaos.

Divine Right of Kings

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Divine Right of Kings is a political and religious doctrine of political absolutism. A general term used for the ideas surrounding the authority and legitimacy of a Monarch, the doctrine broadly holds that a monarch derives his right to rule from the will of God, and not from any temporal authority, including the will of his subjects, the aristocracy, or any other estate of the realm. Chosen by God, a monarch is accountable only to Him, and need answer only before God for his actions. The doctrine implies that the deposition of the king or the restriction of the prerogative power of the crown runs contrary to the will of God. However, the doctrine is not a concrete political theory, but rather an agglomeration of ideas. Practical constraints have placed very considerable limits upon the real political power and authority of monarchs, and the theoretical prescriptions of the Divine Right have seldom translated literally into total absolutism.

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