Reversal of Nature and Evil in Shakespeare's Macbeth
This essay examines the central theme of nature's reversal in Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, arguing that every act of evil in the play disrupts both the physical world and human nature. Beginning with the witches' paradox "Fair is foul, and foul is fair," the paper traces how Macbeth's regicide unleashes supernatural disorder, collapses natural processes such as sunlight and seasonal order, and forces characters like Lady Macbeth to abandon their humanity. Drawing on L.C. Knights's critical study and close readings of key soliloquies, the essay demonstrates that Shakespeare presents evil as inherently unnatural — a force that, once released, empties the world of meaning and reduces life to a tale "signifying nothing."
- Introduction: Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair: Thesis: murders reverse nature and universal order
- The Supernatural and the Perversion of Reality: Witches and ghosts signal unnatural disruption of reality
- Nature's Collapse and the Imagery of Disorder: Physical nature collapses into chaos through evil
- The Reversal of Human Nature: Lady Macbeth abandons humanity to enable murder
- Evil, Meaninglessness, and the Divine Order: Evil empties life of meaning and moral order
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Sustained focus on a single, clearly defined theme — the reversal of nature — allows the argument to build coherently across all sections without straying into unrelated subplots.
- Frequent and well-integrated quotations from the primary text anchor every claim in Shakespeare's actual language, making the analysis concrete rather than abstract.
- Secondary critical support from L.C. Knights's study adds scholarly authority and shows awareness of the critical tradition surrounding the play.
- The essay moves logically from the physical (natural environment) to the psychological (human nature) and finally to the cosmic (divine order), creating a satisfying widening of scope.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper consistently uses close reading — identifying specific diction choices such as "wither'd" and "unsex me here" — and explains how individual word choices reinforce the essay's broader thematic argument. This technique of moving from textual detail to thematic significance is a foundational skill in literary analysis.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a thesis grounded in the play's opening lines, then moves through three overlapping dimensions of disorder: supernatural and preternatural forces, the physical collapse of nature, and the corruption of human nature. A concluding section ties these threads together through Macbeth's "tale told by an idiot" soliloquy, returning to the essay's central claim that evil is a crime against nature, humanity, and divine order.
Introduction: Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair
The Tragedy of Macbeth is widely regarded as Shakespeare's most violent play. Its central theme is the reversal of values and of nature itself, triggered by the evil actions and murders committed by Macbeth and his wife. This reversal of the natural order is announced in the play's very opening lines, in the discourse of the three witches: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (1.1.12). The main plot — the killing of Duncan, King of Scotland — was a common subject for tragedy during the Renaissance age and a recurrent one in Shakespeare's plays. The widespread belief that royalty was foreordained by divinity explains why the act of murdering a king was considered a reversal of order and of values. When the murder is done, an old man significantly proclaims it "unnatural," comparing it to the killing of a falconer by an owl. Throughout the play, there are direct hints at the reversal of nature caused by the dreadful murders, as well as descriptions that reveal absolute natural disorder — such as the sun's refusal to shine. The murderous acts are thus seen as a menace against the basic order of the universe itself.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold, ed. William Shakespeare's Macbeth. New York: Chelsea House, 1987.
Paul, A. "Macbeth and the Gospelling of Scotland." In Shakespeare as Political Thinker, edited by John E. Alvis and Thomas G. West, pp. 315–51. Wilmington: ISI Books, 2000.
Coursen, H.R. Macbeth: A Guide to the Play. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Lowenthal, David. "Macbeth: Shakespeare Mystery Play." Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philology. 1989 (Spring), pp. 311–57.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. London: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.