In 1603, James I became both king and patron of the King's Men, William Shakespeare's company formerly known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men. James I was primarily obsessed with two things: witchcraft and murder. He feared that people, usually witches, would conspire against him to steal his crown. Macbeth, which premiered around 1606, is said to have been a gift to King James and plays on his fears of assassination and witches. The assassination of a king was considered sacrilege because, at that time, kingship was considered a gift given directly to someone by God. Killing the king would therefore go against the word of God. Macbeth's use of imagery of procreation in the form of birth, fertility, and children represents the play's fascination with what is considered a "natural" or divine right to rule. His continued efforts to go against this nature foreshadow his later death from "unnatural" causes. By analyzing the use of metaphors and similes comparing the Scottish crown to family life in Macbeth, I will show that the play uses the discussion of nature and the unnatural to foreshadow the ending of the play. These questions related to nature as it relates to the right to rule are important because nature's intervention in the struggle for the throne ultimately leads to Macbeth's downfall. I will examine Act 1, Scene 7 and Act 2, Scenes 3 and 4 to focus on the similes used to compare the murder of King Duncan to the baby and birth images. I will then examine Act 3, Scene 1, to discuss the metaphors used to connect fertility with Macbeth's fear of losing his crown. Finally, I will relate these fears to the factors leading to his death in Act 5. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Macbeth's culpable usurpation of the Scottish crown is manifested in baby imagery and is used to describe the environment's response to the murder of King Duncan. Although he eventually kills King Duncan, he initially goes through a period of hesitation and inconsistency. During a monologue in which he weighs the reasons for and against regicide, he declares: "And pity, like a naked newborn riding the explosion, or the cherubim of heaven, riding on the blind messengers of the air, will blow the horrible deed in all eyes, that tears will drown the wind. (1.7.21-25)The “newborn” evokes images of infants. However, "the cherubim of heaven" also evokes this imagery, as cherubim are often depicted as innocent, healthy children. This use of blameless creatures combined with his own description of the murder as a "horrible act" makes it seem like he feels guilty for what he did. Indeed, historically, a kingdom passes from father to son; upon birth, a child inherits future rights to a crown. Macbeth plans to upset this tradition by assassinating King Duncan. Here, these babies personify Mercy as she speaks out against the killing of the king through their informative actions. They act as the image of condemnation of murder. The literal image of natural succession to the throne, the young child who would supposedly be next in line, speaks out against murder. The fact that Macbeth thinks of this when he considers killing Duncan indicates that he understands that killing the king is wrong in the sense that he is defying nature. The use of comparisons to babies and births regarding the wrongfulness of Macbeth's actions, evident in this passage, are amplified in Macbeth's language even afterhaving killed King Duncan. Macbeth applies similes to his speech to compare the murder to the abnormal birth of a baby, which demonstrates the importance of the murder. unnatural aspect of regicide. When a baby is born, he or she usually comes out head first. Sometimes the baby comes out feet or bottom first, in a breech position, and many doctors then perform a C-section. Not only is a cesarean section completely unnatural in that the body cannot accomplish it without the help of doctors, but the way the baby is balanced is a true inversion of the natural process. Macbeth evokes the imagery of this reversal when he says, “…his gashes were like a breach in nature” (2.3.110) upon seeing the corpse of King Duncan. Macbeth has just killed the king. The position of kingship was considered sacred, a divine right into which one was born. Macbeth's use of the phrase "breach of nature" implies that he knows that killing King Duncan goes against the natural order of the world. The play on words between the words "breech" and "breach" implies that regicide is a reversal not unlike that of a breech or cesarean delivery. On the night of Duncan's death, the king's horses were said to have "gone wild, broken their stalls, thrown out,…. [and] ate one another” (2.4.16-19). Macbeth's act of homicide somehow turns the natural world upside down. What he feared earlier – nature's condemnation and revolt against the act – rings true. Animals commit cannibalism, one of the only universal taboos for all creatures. This "breach in nature" did more than just give Macbeth the crown, but it disrupted nature in such a visible way that Macbeth still uses the imagery of procreation to describe his precarious situation. Macbeth uses fertility imagery to compare his lack of children to Banquo's prophecy of the witches, which shows his underlying fear of losing his stolen crown. After becoming king, Macbeth is still not satisfied. He laments his position, declaring: “On my head they have placed a barren crown/And put a barren scepter in my hands” (3.1.61-2). Macbeth evokes images of fertility using expressions such as "barren scepter" and "barren crown" and thus associates himself with a lack of natural offspring, the absence of fertility, and a perversion of natural succession. Following the earlier logic that a “natural” or legitimate kingship extends from father to son, Macbeth's lack of children symbolizes his position as an unjustified usurper. Without children, the crown will leave his family line upon his death. His insecurity about his crown and his lack of children culminate in his hatred and fear of Banquo when he remarks that "Banquo's seeds [will be] kings" (3.1.70). The seeds here are a euphemism for both Banquo's sperm and his offspring. Macbeth receives the crown through unnatural means, through murder and not through family lineage, and he fears that Banquo's lineage will take it from him through natural or rightful means - by being born into it. He is bitter that Banquo's future sons are entitled to the crown that he feels guilty about taking. Macbeth is so obsessed with Banquo's "seeds" and his fertility because he lacks them himself. This constant fixation of Macbeth on his precarious and unjust position makes him incapable of thinking logically in a way that would prevent his fears from coming to fruition. Macbeth's inner thoughts about his "unnatural" ascension to the throne manifest as death by "unnatural death." " means. Knowing that Banquo's sons may have a natural lineage allowing them to be king, Macbeth seeks.