Theme Of Chaos In Macbeth

In the Scottish tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare chaos and disorder are a driving factor in the plot of the play. It is caused by the Weïrd Sisters who trick Macbeth into believing the illusion of their predictions. Macbeth, armed with a dangerous ambition, goes and creates more disorder throughout the play. A motif that can be traced through the play that adds disorder is weather. In the very beginning of the play one can see the beginning of the motif of weather.

The three witches enter and the first thing that is said is,“When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lighting, or rain? (1-2). This shows that the witches, a source of chaos and disorder, only meet in bad weather. Weather is a mystery and especially during bad storms one cannot see what is coming. This is the case with Macbeth; he doesn’t see the witches coming and certainly doesn’t see the destruction that will follow. As they exit they say, “Hover through the fog and filthy air” (13). This shows that they fly even in fog which is weather most people cannot see clearly in. This means that they use their trickery when others cannot see it coming and are therefore at a disadvantage, which creates even more disorder. Right before Macbeth meets the sisters for the first time he says, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” (39). This means that the weather is both good and bad at the same time. This disorder reflects the disorder that is about take place. Upon hearing his future Macbeth sees it as a