Chain of Being

Good Morrow!
Today's post is all about THE CHAIN OF BEING (Cue epic trumpet flourish). Now some of you may be asking, "What the heck is that?!"Basically, in Shakespeare's time, The Chain of Being placed you in a specific class/ order of ranking. The interesting thing is that it was possible to work your way up the chain (which Malvolio tries to do in TWELFTH NIGHT). The belief in a higher power puts God (also referred to as Jove) at the very top. Angels are directly below God. After angels came nobility, the kings that rule over the land that answers God's will. After the king came everyone else, ordered from most valuable to least. Men technically came before women, but under given circumstances, a middle class woman could have a higher position than a peasant man. Unfortunately, musicians, actors, thieves and smugglers have a reserved spot as the lowest of the lows on The Chain of Being. Still unsure? You can see it illustrated in simplified terms below!

Come see TWELFTH NIGHT and discover where all our characters lie on...(trumpet flourish) THE CHAIN OF BEING!
For more information:
1. LINK: http://web.cn.edu/KWHEELER/Tillyard01.html

2.