Macbeth’s Rejection of Christianity is the Cause of his Downfall

Line of inquiry: How does Shakespeare explore the connection between Macbeth’s rejection of
Christianity and his downfall?

Word Count: 1577

Candidate Code: 003766 0004 November 2022

Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, was written in 1606 after King James I came into power over England
in 1603. Within Macbeth, Shakespeare uses biblical allusion to depict Christianity as an essential part
of each character's life. Macbeth explores the “great chain of being”, a hierarchal structure decreed by
God and an essential aspect of Medieval Christianity. Within the great chain of being, kings are
depicted as the highest earthly authority – deriving the right to rule directly from God – thus, an act of
treason is an act against God and nature. King James was intensely religious and often reinforced his
belief in the divine right of kings. Once proclaiming his “divine power” in a speech addressed to
parliament and decreed treason as a blasphemous act defying God and nature (The National Archives
of the UK, 1610). The theatre was, at this time, a vehicle for religious propaganda; however, if it
displayed Christianity negatively, it could be blacklisted by the King. So, Shakespeare portrays
Christianity as a force of good in his plays, conveying the merits and importance of faith to the
audience to curry favour from King James. He conveys this message in Macbeth by portraying
Macbeth’s rejection of Christianity as the root of his problems. To reject his Christianity, Macbeth
challenges the divine right of kings by murdering Duncan. From there, Macbeth’s rejection of faith
leads to his eventual demise as he slowly loses his morality and, with it, his sanity. His guilt for
murdering others manifests as hallucinations, ultimately leading to his downfall and death. Therefore,
Shakespeare uses subtle biblical allusion to reflect King James' views and represent Macbeth's
rejection of Christianity as the cause of his downfall.
Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare uses double entendre to construct biblical allusions that portray
Macbeth’s rejection of Christianity as the cause of his downfall. For example, in the soliloquy in Act
1, Macbeth references “Bloody instructions” (1.7.9) (Shakespeare, 1999), representing his act of
treason; however, this also symbolises the bible, alluding to Macbeth’s Christianity. To illustrate
Macbeth’s rejection of the bible and thereby his Christianity, Shakespeare depicts the instructions
“taught” (1.7.9) by Macbeth. This implies that Macbeth no longer uses the bible, thus conveying to
the audience that Macbeth intentionally rejects his Christianity. Macbeth then states these instructions
“return to plague th’inventor” (1.7.10), foreshadowing retaliatory violence in response to Macbeth’s
actions, leading to his death. This reinforces Shakespeare's message to the audience that Macbeth's
rejection of his Christianity, a force of good, resulted in his downfall, especially as Macbeth
acknowledges the consequences he will face. Furthermore, double entendre is also present in the
phrase “poisoned chalice” (1.7.11). Macbeth chooses to drink from the chalice, and the “poison”
represents his loss of morality, made apparent by Macbeth’s increasingly dismissive attitude towards
each death as the play progresses. For example, he states that “life's but a walking shadow” (5.5.23)
concerning his wife's death, showing little remorse after losing a loved one. Moreover, the symbolism
of a chalice to Shakespeare’s audience further exemplifies Macbeth’s renunciation of Christianity.
The chalice alludes to God’s blood taken at each Holy Communion to cleanse Christians of their sin.
Therefore, Macbeth displays his purposeful rejection of Christianity by drinking from the poisoned
chalice. Thus, Shakespeare invites the audience to see that Macbeth’s intentional rejection of
Christianity results in his loss of morality. Conveying the merits of Christianity to the audience, as the
rejection of Christianity was the cause of his downfall.
Shakespeare also creates an apparent parallel between Macbeth and Judas to illustrate Macbeth's
demise as an effect of his rejection of Christianity. Shakespeare creates this parallel to highlight the
severity of Macbeth’s decisions to the audience and show how it leads to his demise. For example,
Macbeth states Duncan is in “double trust… // as [he is] his kinsman and his subject” (1.7.12-13). As
an educated Christian, Macbeth would be aware of the “great chain of being” and the condemnation
of those who defy it. Therefore, when Macbeth gratuitously betrays his King, there are clear parallels
to the biblical betrayal of Jesus by his disciple Judas. Furthermore, in the following line, Macbeth
states these traits are “Strong both against the deed” (1.7.14), reinforcing his awareness of his actions'
consequences. Therefore, his defiance of the “great chain of being” is the behaviour that results in his
demise because Macbeth knows somebody will avenge the late King. This further conveys
Shakespeare’s view that Christianity shows merit and is crucial as he presents Macbeth’s repudiation

Candidate Code: 003766 0004 November 2022

of Christianity as the cause of his downfall to the audience. Furthermore, Macbeth murders his King
for his gain, falling prey to avarice, a sin of desire, and intentionally rejecting his faith. This is
portrayed by Shakespeare as Macbeth states aside: “Stars, hide your fire; Let not light see my black
and deep desires” (1.4.57-58) after learning he had been named the Thane of Cawdor. This passage
exemplifies Macbeth's greed as he wishes that "stars" do not illuminate his evil desire to defy the
chain of being, and thus he craves the dark and hidden path of sin. Furthermore, it accentuates
Macbeth’s step into the darkness, as the use of starlight alludes to the bible, in which starlight
represents signs of good – illustrating Macbeth's desire to step away from what is good by rejecting
his faith. There is a direct parallel here that would have been obvious to Shakespeare’s audience in the
actions of Macbeth in betraying his King and the betrayal of Jesus in the bible by one of his disciples.
After the crucifixion, Judas was beset with remorse and ultimately committed suicide. Similarly, after
the betrayal of his King, Macbeth's guilt begins to overwhelm him, taking on the form of
hallucinations. Macbeth's worst hallucination occurs when Banquo's ghost appears in front of him at
his banquet. Macbeth's guilt is so powerful, just as Judas' was, that he loses sense of reality and cannot
be sure of whether he is experiencing a hallucination or not. For example, in an attempt to reassure
himself that Banquo is genuinely dead, he states, “Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold thou
hast no speculation in those eyes” (3.4.94-96). This makes the audience see Macbeth’s increasing
instability, as Macbeth's haunting descriptions are not sane. Thus, Shakespeare uses these
hallucinations to convey to the audience that Macbeth’s guilt is because of his purposeful rejection of
faith and alludes to Judas, whose loss of mental stability led to his death. Therefore, Shakespeare
effectively illustrates to the audience the importance of Christianity by portraying Macbeth’s
repudiation of Christianity as the cause of his demise.
Another device Shakespeare uses to portray Macbeth’s rejection of faith and his downfall is biblical
imagery. For example, Macbeth describes Duncan’s virtues as “angels, trumpet-tongued” (1.7.9),
representing Duncan in Macbeth’s mind as a heavenly figure. Furthermore, “the deep damnation of
his taking-off” (1.7.10) alludes to the devil, suggesting Macbeth sees his future actions as
representative of this, and this is further emphasised by the alliteration of "trumpet-tongued" angels
protesting. Using biblical imagery here, Shakespeare conveys to the audience that Macbeth
acknowledges the evil intent behind his actions and deliberately chooses his path. Additionally, the
stark contrast between heaven and hell imagery shows Macbeth's increasingly tumultuous mental
state. The image created by this scene reflects that of the Day of Judgement, as cherubs and angels
proclaim Duncan's virtue and pity from a storm-filled sky. This foreshadows Macbeth’s judgement at
the hands of Macduff later in the play and conveys to the audience that his downfall is a result of his
decision to renounce his Christianity. Another example of Shakespeare’s use of imagery to convey
Macbeth’s downfall due to his repudiation of faith is Macbeth’s description of his ambition. Macbeth
describes his ambition as “vaulting” (1.7.27), high enough it “o'erleaps itself” (1.7.27), creating the
image that his ambition is a rider jumping into the saddle of a horse, who leaps too high, misses and
falls. This describes the downfall of Macbeth as he follows his ambition too far and falls as a result.
This alludes to the bible as Macbeth, to reach his ambition, has to gain pride, which the bible
expresses as the cause of downfall: “pride goeth before destruction and haughtiness before a fall”
(King James Bible, 2008, Prov. 16:18). Therefore, Shakespeare portrays Macbeth’s ambition in this
way to express the importance of Christianity, which Macbeth repudiates by killing Duncan, leading
to his downfall.
Throughout the play, Shakespeare constructs biblical allusion to express his view of Christianity to
his audience. He wishes to convey to his audience the merits of being a devoted Christian and reflect
the views of King James. He does so successfully by constructing biblical allusion, assisted by the use
of literary devices. Using double entendre, Shakespeare draws comparisons between scenes from the
bible and the actions of the principal characters in the play to display Macbeth’s intentional
renunciation of faith and subsequent loss of moral authority and foreshadow his death. Furthermore,
Shakespeare references Judas to convey the severity of Macbeth's actions by comparing him to a

Candidate Code: 003766 0004 November 2022

controversial and extreme biblical figure whose downfall resulted from his rejection of faith.
Shakespeare also uses imagery to allude to heaven and hell, the Day of Judgement and the bible,
effectively portraying Macbeth's sinful actions as the cause of his downfall. Although Shakespeare's
plays have stood the test of time, and Macbeth is widely considered as one of his finer works, I
believe Shakespeare's portrayal of faith is less relevant to many modern audiences. Instead, the
modern interpretation of his work relies on the audience understanding that Macbeth’s descent into
madness and downfall is because of his moral failure to resist ambition, rather than his repudiation of
Christianity.

Bibliography
King James Bible. (2008 (Original work re-edited and published 1769) ). Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Shakespeare. (1999). Macbeth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The National Archives of the UK. (1610, March 21). James' I Speech in the Banqueting Chamber.
Retrieved from The National Archives Website:
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/james-i/divine-right/

Candidate Code: 003766 0004 November 2022