How Shakespeare Saw the Universe

To understand many of Shakespeare's references to power and hierarchy, we must first understand how Shakespeare saw the universe. In the Elizabethan era, the most widely accepted idea about the structure of the universe was The Great Chain of Being.

What is The Great Chain of Being?

The Great Chain of Being was a concrete universal hierarchy, according to the Elizabethans. The Chain showed order in an increasingly chaotic world, demonstrated the unity of all forms of existence, and explained God's plenitude. The world was abundant in beings but not superfluous––each being contributed something to the universe.

The Great Chain of Being is a hierarchy.  Its links are the classes of existence. All beings of the universe are divided into classes, which are ranked one on top of the other, and within each class, the beings are ranked one on top of the other. The supreme member of every class connects that class to the one above.

What are the links (classes of being) in the Chain?

The lowest link in the Chain is the link of existence only––the inanimate class. The inanimate class includes rocks and gems. The supreme member of this class was the diamond.

On top of the inanimate class, is the link of existence and life––the animate class. The animate class includes plants. The supreme member of the class of flowers, at the top of the animate class, was the rose.

On top of the animate class, is the link of existence and life and feeling––the sensitive class. The sensitive class includes all animal species. The sensitive class is further broken down into sub-classes: fish, birds, beasts, etc. Each of these sub-classes had its own supreme being: the dolphin is the king of fish, the eagle the kind of birds, and the lion the king of beasts. At the apex of the entire sensitive class, are humans, who have existence, life, feeling, and understanding. With these four attributes, humans possess all the faculties of earthly phenomena. 

On top of the sensitive class, is the celestial class, which includes the planets and the angels. The supreme member of the solar system is the sun, and the supreme member of the angels (above the planets) is the seraph.

On top of the class of angels, is God. He is the highest link of the chain.

The elements existed within a supplementary chain because they transcended these classes. The hierarchy of the elements, from highest to lowest, was ordered: fire, air, water, earth. Elements stretched the whole length of the Chain: from the inanimate class all the way to the Heavens.

How does man fit into the Chain?

Man fits at the top of the sensitive class. He has the crucial position in the chain, linking earthly to celestial beings––that is, bridging matter and spirit.

Man's humours and his physical body connect him to the Earthly world, while man's higher faculties and his mental existence connect him to angels and to God. 

The Elizabethans believed that liquid substances called humours intertwined to define a person's character. Every part of the microcosm (the human existence) could be compared to the macrocosm (the universe's existence), because each class was a plane that corresponded to every other plane and to the whole Chain.  Humours were to the human body as elements were to the earth. Thus, each humour had a corresponding element. At the bottom of the hierarchy were the cold and dry: the humour of melancholy, and the element of earth. Melancholy was said to come from the spleen. Above that was the cold and moist: the humour of phlegm, and the element of water. Phlegm was believed to come from the lungs. Next highest on the chain was the hot and moist: the humour of blood, and the element of air. Blood came from the heart. Highest of all, were the hot and dry: the humour of choler, and the element of fire. Choler came from the liver, where Elizabethans believed that love came from.

Within the higher faculties of man, the hierarchy is as follows: lowest is the five sense (sense of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste); in the middle is common sense, fancy, and memory; and highest is understanding, wit, and will. Capability of self-knowledge elevates man from beast, while the need to use reason to understand (rather than understanding intuitively) separates man from angels.

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