A king is powerful and extremely influential person and if the rightful king is not on the throne then there is a drastic effect on everything. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the characters of Macbeth and Duncan and Malcolm clearly show that the legitimate king is important for stability. Macbeth, Malcolm and Duncan character influence the natural and supernatural world and people’s opinion exemplifies the type of kings they are. Macbeth’s unsuitability to be king is exemplified through his way of ruling. Macbeth swears at his servants. When a servant brings Macbeth unfavourable criticism, Macbeth swears at him saying “Go prick thy face and over-red thy fear,/ Thou lily-liver’d boy.” (V.iii.14-15) Even after the crimes Macbeth commits his servant is still loyal to him and serves Macbeth, but Macbeth repays this courteousness by insulting him repeatedly showing that Macbeth is an awful king. Macbeth lacks foresight which is an essential quality to be king. After Macbeth receives the apparitions, Macbeth swears that “The very firstlings of my heart shall be/ The firstlings of my hand.” (IV.ii.146-147) A politician is decisive, keen and cunning and is always ready to outsmart his enemy, but Macbeth puts his actions before anything else and shows that he is lacking in foresight of his actions hence he is a terrible king. Macbeth is an awful king because he insults his servants and lacks foresight. Macbeth’s reign as king affects the natural world negatively. The weather is now bizarre and chaotic. After the Macbeth murders Duncan, Lennox describes the chaos saying “Our chimneys were blown down…Some say, the earth/ Was feverous and did shake.”(II.iii.50-56) After the death of King Duncan, the universe is in chaos, th... ... middle of paper ... ... is king he receives threats and slanders. Macbeth describes the munificence of Duncan and Macduff approves of Malcolm because the type of kings they are. The state of the world and the opinion of the Scottish show what kind of kings are Malcolm, Duncan and Macbeth. Macbeth is a cruel and unwise king by him abusing his subjects and he lacks in foresight though when Malcolm is king he is smart in testing Macduff’s loyalty and when Duncan is king he is gracious to his subjects. When Malcolm and Duncan are kings the weather is beautiful and even God approves of their kingship, but when Macbeth is king there are strong winds and earthquakes and even an owl eating a falcon. Macbeth receives slanders and threats during his reign, but Malcolm and Duncan receive approval universally. If the legitimate sovereign does not rule, then the world will be corrupt and chaotic.
In the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare has a strong theme of power. Macbeth is a king who is given three predictions from three witches, one of which is that he will become king. The one problem is he doesn’t know what he has to do in order to become king. His wife then decides that in order for him to become king, he must kill the current king. This one murder then leads to others in order to cover the original murder up. Once Macbeth becomes king, he doesn’t want anything to change, he wants to stay king until he dies. He then begins to kill again, but instead of killing to cover something, he is killing anyone who stands in his way of staying king. Macbeth’s fate is affected by the personality trait of bravery, his ability to be manipulated, and his determination.
“Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been / So clear in his great office, that his virtues /Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation of his taking-off; (1.7.16-20)” The powerful values of being a good king in Macbeth, all the king's learn to manage throughout the book. William Shakespeare's ideas towards kingship can be seen throughout the play Macbeth, and shows that a king should be chosen by a divine right. Throughout the play Macbeth the most important topic is kingship. Followed by knowing the difference of kingship and tyranny. Shakespeare closed it out with cruelty and masculinity along with staying true to principles.
Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare, portrays Macbeth as a kinsman, subject and trusted friend to King Duncan I of Scotland. A trusted friend, that is, until Macbeth has a chance encounter with the “three witches” (Shakespeare) or the “Weird Sisters”. The witches predict that Macbeth will become the next King and that his fellow companion, Banquo, will be the father of a line of kings. A change comes over Macbeth after his meeting; he is no longer content to be a follower of the King, he will “be” King at any cost. After killing the King and his friend Banquo, losing his wife to madness and ordering the execution of many, Macbeth is killed in much the same fashion as he has killed. But does this really reflect the real King MacBeth of Scotland? While examining the characteristics and actions of the two Macbeths and decide if Shakespeare’s writing was historically sound or was it just “double, double, toil and trouble” (4.1.22-26) playing with MacBeth’s character.
...lanced as Malcolm becomes the King. The truth of Macbeth is shown immensely near the end of the play as his ideals are truly expressed. The demise of Macbeth was inarguably affected by himself. The prophecies caused Macbeth to become nonsesual and led him into doing the wrong for his good.
Macbeth is the story of a man who falls from his noble state. In the beginning, Macbeth was a courageous fighter for Scotland's King Duncan. Macbeth is soon overcome with greed for power, so he kills the king and crowns himself. He becomes worried of losing his newly gained power causing him to kill more people. In the end the lords and nobles join forces with the king's son, Malcolm, to destroy Macbeth. In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the character Macbeth was persuaded by the three witches to commit evil, leading to his tragic downfall.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centred around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a noble and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very nave, gullible, and vulnerable.
In the book, MacBeth, written by, William Shakespeare, there are many characters with qualities of a good king. On the other hand there are characters throughout the book that have terrible king qualities such as, Lady MacBeth. Lady MacBeth would be the worst King because of the fact she has unstable mental health and is very manipulative. These are not in any way good qualities of a king. Who would want a King, most powerful figure in society, have struggling mental health?
His actions help the crown to be presented as being of noble and righteous bounds. The crown’s reputation is one with its ruler; therefore, the crown, up to this point, was something holy that motivated actions for the betterment of a country and not ones of selfishness. Also, through Macbeth’s direct characterization of King Duncan, it is shown how moralistic this monarchy has been during his reign: “Besides, this Duncan/ Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been/ So clear in his great office…” (1. 7. 18). There has not been a straying off of the path of the straight and narrow for the him nor the crown; however, that is subject to
Before things get worse, he goes to see the witches to try to plan for his future, which ties into his ambition. Once he sees the witches, he is more confident than ever in his kingship. Once the first apparition tells him to beware Macduff, it confirms Macbeth’s suspicions. Macbeth’s planned murder of Macduff’s family is another example of his tyranny and his ambition. However, this ambition does not help Macbeth in the long run, because Macduff ultimately decides to “Dispute it as a man” (4.3.223). Macduff is determined to get Malcolm, the rightful king of Scotland, back on the throne. He uses this ambition to attempt to end the tyranny that is Macbeth’s reign as
The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is a tale of a man and his un-bridled ambition, set in ancient Scotland. Macbeth is a nobleman of the king of Scotland, Duncan, who is in mid-war with Norway. Macbeth and his fellow general Banquo encounter three witches. The witches tell the pair that Macbeth will be king, and Banquo’s children will also be kings. Any person in their right mind would question information given to them by strangers, let alone witches, but for some reason these statements intrigue Macbeth. They temp Macbeth to do evil things such as treason, and worse, to kill. Although un-bridled ambition is his main tragic flaw, there is one more that plays a big role in his decisions and the outcome of the story; Macbeth is far too impressionable.
Macbeth’s ambition to obtain power convinces him that it is his destiny to become King of Scotland, and that he should do anything to fulfill that destiny, even if it involves him committing tremendously immoral acts such as murder. After Macbeth realizes that the witches may actually speak the truth due to the second prophecy (Thane of Cawdor) becoming true, he begins to have an eerie and frightening thought of him killing his king and friend, Duncan, in order to ac...
Macbeth shifts from being loyal and courageous to a murderer executing a treacherous plan to kill the current king due to supernatural suggestions that he would be king himself. Macbeth is discussed as a man worthy of recognition by other characters in act one scene two. In this scene, the Captain states: “For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)” (1. 2. 18). Macbeth is being praised for his courage and loyalty to Scotland and the king. This first impression is hastily contrasted after hearing the prophecy of the witches stating he will be “king hereafter” (1. 3. 53). Immediately after hearing this, Macbet...
In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare creates the ruthless character Macbeth, who is willing to go beyond any measure in order to attain the power of being king, including murder, deceit, betrayal and overpowering the chain of being. Macbeth was first tempted by the idea of kingship when three witches presented him with their portent of Macbeth becoming the next King of Scotland. Ebullient, Macbeth, immediately informed his wife of the news and they both pondered the thought of having the power to rule all of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, a power seeker herself, promptly schemed a plan to kill King Duncan in order for her and her husband to rule, displaying her ready ambition for power. Macbeth’s thirst for power ate away at his conscience
As one reads through the play, a thing to notice is that Malcolm has not been part of the wars Scotland fought, or made effort in war. In the beginning of the book, Duncan does not mention his son, Malcolm, as a tribute to the wars Scotland has fought, and won. Malcolm does not have any training or experience in managing the state of Scotland, which allows the people of Scotland to think he is unworthy of inheriting the throne. "Macduff, this noble passion, child of integrity, hath from my soul." (4.3.115). This line explains how Malcolm is inspired by Macduff's certainty of not just fighting against Macbeth, but to fight against evil. Despite the lack of valour, Malcolm decides to take action against Macbeth, as Macduff sparks the ambition inside him, of saving the people of Scotland from Macbeth. With Macduff inspiring Malcolm to fight for his people's rights against Macbeth and his evilness, Malcolm decides to take his rightful place as king, even though he does not have the qualities of a strong and brave king. In the outset of the play, Shakespeare does not focus on Malcolm's character in the play, as it was Macbeth who was known as ambitious and brave one, while Malcolm was just known as the "Prince of Cumberland." Shakespeare mainly defined Malcolm's character as weak. His character had very few lines, and was of
In the play, Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth and King Duncan’s eldest son, Malcolm, plot to kill the king. Both characters share a few similarities and differences; each being shown with different motivations, different ways of speaking, their ambitions and their lineage.