Macbeth kIngship

Conors10262

Could somebody please give me important quotes and notes for kingship in macbeth thanks a million

Acciaccatura

When answering a question on kingship in Macbeth, discuss the characters of Duncan, and his role as rightful king, Macbeth and his usurping of the throne, King Edward the Confessor of England and his virtues, and Malcolm as rightful heir to the throne.

Duncan
Duncan seems to be a good but ineffective king. Scotland is already embroiled in battle from 3 different sides when the play opens. Duncan doesn't seem to be a very good judge of character as he has been betrayed by the Thane of Cawdor. He comments on the difficulty of perceiving somebody's true colours:
"There's no art/to find the mind's construction in the face"
( irony here, as he gives the traitor's title to Macbeth, who in turn betrays Duncan in his act of regicide )
In Act 1 Scene 7 Macbeth comments on Duncan's qualities that made him a good king, and also the reasons why he should not follow through with his plans of regicide:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. 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;
Note that in Shakespeare's time kings were believed to have a divine right to rule, and so regicide was seen as an act against nature and of sacrilege. This is illustrated when we learn that Duncan's horses turn wild and eat each other and it is dark during the day following Duncan's death. Duncan's flaw of naivety and poor judgement of character ultimately leads him to his downfall.

That's all I can do off the top of my head, you'll have to explore it in a bit more detail. I'll post stuff on the rest of the kings later, but I hope this gets you started! Good luck

Conors10262

Acciaccatura wrote: »

When answering a question on kingship in Macbeth, discuss the characters of Duncan, and his role as rightful king, Macbeth and his usurping of the throne, King Edward the Confessor of England and his virtues, and Malcolm as rightful heir to the throne.

Duncan
Duncan seems to be a good but ineffective king. Scotland is already embroiled in battle from 3 different sides when the play opens. Duncan doesn't seem to be a very good judge of character as he has been betrayed by the Thane of Cawdor. He comments on the difficulty of perceiving somebody's true colours:
[COLOR="SeaGreen"] "There's no art/to find the mind's construction in the face"[/COLOR]
( [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]irony here, as he gives the traitor's title to Macbeth, who in turn betrays Duncan in his act of regicide[/COLOR] )
In Act 1 Scene 7 Macbeth comments on Duncan's qualities that made him a good king, and also the reasons why he should not follow through with his plans of regicide:
[COLOR="SeaGreen"]First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. 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;[/COLOR]
Note that in Shakespeare's time kings were believed to have a divine right to rule, and so regicide was seen as an act against nature and of sacrilege. This is illustrated when we learn that Duncan's horses turn wild and eat each other and it is dark during the day following Duncan's death. Duncan's flaw of naivety and poor judgement of character ultimately leads him to his downfall.

That's all I can do off the top of my head, you'll have to explore it in a bit more detail. I'll post stuff on the rest of the kings later, but I hope this gets you started! Good luck

Thanks so much

LpPepper

Since the other poster has already covered Duncan, here's some paragraphs about Macbeth's tyranny as king from an essay I wrote about Kingship recently...also, don't forget to mention Malcolm and Edward the Confessor !

" Macbeth defines the meaning of the word "tyrant" when he becomes king in this play. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is loyal to Duncan and he describes him as "smack[ing] of honour". However, it is the prophecy of the witches that plant the seed of terrible deeds and "horrible imaginings" in his mind, which eventually becomes "...full of scorpions...". Macbeth realises his plans to kill Duncan are wrong but he admits that -

"...this is a step

On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,

For in my way it lies."

This shows that despite his ambitious thoughts of regicide, he knows what he is doing is wrong but chooses to do it regardless.

Macbeth does what no king should - he violates the natural order. His hands are so covered in blood that he wonders if "... all great Neptune's ocean [will] wash th[e] blood/Clean from [his] hand...". On the night of Duncan's murder, Lennox says that there were "...strange screams of death..." and that "...the earth/Was feverous and did shake". Macbeth also admits that it "'Twas a rough night", commenting on how he too believed that nature was in turmoil.

Shakespeare employs imagery of clothing in order to demonstrate Macbeth's illegitimate tyranny. Macbeth, when dressed in king's robes asks -

"...why do you dress me in borrowed robes?"

When speaking to Ross (Macbeth's cousin), Macduff feels uneasy with Macbeth's newly acquired kingship and admits he would feel more comfortable with how things used to be -

"Lest our old robes sit easier than our new."

There are also apparent images of disease and poison in "Macbeth", which are used to enforce the idea of Macbeth's tyranny. In Act I, scene (iii), Macbeth states that the thought of murdering Duncan weighs so heavily on his mind that he is unable to function -

"My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is
But what is not."

Macbeth also admits that he is "...sick at the heart..." and he cannot hope to have things such as "...honour, love, obedience, troops of friends..." which according to him, should accompany a man at old age. Instead, he says that he can only hope to have people who honour him with words but not their hearts, whispered curses and thoughts of suicide which he could not carry through -

"Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath

Which the poor heart would fain deny and dare not".

Macbeth loses all traits that make up what a good and loyal king should be. He does not possess the "king-becoming graces" such as "justice,verity,temperance,stableness,/Bounty,perserverance,mercy,lowliness,/Devotion,patience,courage [or] fortitude...". Instead of valuing his position as king and seeing it as a service to his people like Duncan did, he throws the kingdom into chaos. In Act IV, scene (iii), Macduff talks about the "downfall'n" kingdom and how -

"Each new morn

New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows

Strike heaven on the face".

Malcom believes that his country "...weeps...bleeds..." and that every day a new gash is "..added to its wounds...". In violating the natural order, Ross says that because of Macbeth, the "poor country" is "...almost afraid to know itself...". Macbeth is also a king without a title, according to Macduff who says he is an "...untitled tyrant bloody-scepter'd...". Macbeth has done so wrong he does not even deserve the title of "king" but instead he is a bloodied tyrant, who will not let anyone stand in the way of his throne."