Kingship in Macbeth Essay

The theme of fagotship is bingle which atomic number 50 be recognise constantly throughout the coquette. This makes sense as the act is ultimately a tri howevere to King James I, who was mogul when Macbeth was writ tenner in 1606. King James strongly believed that becoming nance was a divine right and that they themselves, as kings, were Gods representatives on earth. on the whole these aspects can be securen from beginning to end of Macbeth and we see how when this vow of kings is changed by unnatural means, everyone suffers. During the course of the play we see the traits of four kings Duncan, Macbeth, Edward and Malcolm. through with(predicate) the reign of each of these kings, we ar shown clearly how a country is nevertheless stable if the king is good and virtuous. In Shakespearean sequences, a king had absolute power and the welfare of the state depended strongly on him. All tribe were similar to King James in the belief that kings were appoint by divine right, and had to possess the king becoming graces of, justice, verity, temperance, bounty, perseverance, stableness, lowliness and devotion. When the play opens, we see Duncan as king.He himself admit that there is not art to conclusion the minds construction in the face. This inability to judge throng well, ultimately fall(a) outs to his downfall. The original Thane of Cowdor, a man in whom I Duncan put up some trust rebelled against Scotland when under the reign of Duncan, something which Duncan could not forewarn. Similar happened with Macbeth. Duncan trust Macbeth and saw him as a brave and valiant cousin. Duncans rely of Macbeth lead to his own untimely death. We can see clearly Duncans weakness as king he trusts too easily.We can too see the traits of a good king in his font as his punishes those who commit treason (Thane of Cowdor), and rewards those who are brave and loyal (Banquo and Macbeth), go annunciate his present death and with his former title greet Macbeth. It is clear that people respected Duncan as king and his godliness can be seen in the words expressed by Macduff when he is murdered, most sac sacred murder hath broke ope the lords anointed temple and stolen the life hense. ironically Macbeth himself praises and ac lastledges Duncans qualities, Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek. When Macbeth occasions king, we see the opposite to Duncan. Macbeth reigns with terror and has constant feelingings of paranoia, swear no one, to be thus is nothing, provided to be adeptly thus, we become scorched the snake, not killed it, our fears in Banquo stick deep. Macbeths reign cannot be succeeded by his children as he became king through a disgustful and unnatural act of regicide, upon my head they placed a fruitless crown. , During this time, regiside was considered to be one of the most unforgivable crimes possible- the killing of Gods elect representative on Earth.This act alone show that Macbeth will convening as a king of t error. His reign is characterised by instability, he has flutter natural order and this can be seen reflected in the natural arena around him, thou seest the heavens as troubled with mans act .. by the clock tis day and yet dark lively stangles the travelling lamp. The topsy-turvydom and disorder seen in Scotland under Macbeths incur is reflected in the natural world. As king, Macbeth focuses on the wrong things, he tries to attain strength and power and puts this vaulting ambition before his duty to lead Scotland.Macbeth could in no way be considered divine, a clear air to meek Duncan. The character of Macbeth is associated with evil and witch-craft and his is known to others as a despot whose sole name blisters our tongues, synonymous with power, although he has no legal or God-chosen right to have it. In Macbeth we see a king who deviates all in all from all the king becoming graces and qualities of a good king, and as a result, his country suffers greatly, every morn ne w widows howl, new orphans cry. In the play, we never actually meet Edward the Confessor, King of England, but through descriptions from Malcolm we can see clearly that he embodies all that a true, virtuous king should. He is associated with heaven and grace and all things saintly. Edward is said to possess the ability to foresee the future and to heal the sick, he does not abuse these powers like Macbeth, but instead puts them to good use, he hath a heavenly gift of prophecy, and miscellaneous blessings hang about his throne. We see in Edward a king who is a good judge of character, unlike Duncan.Edward welcomes Malcolm into his court and agrees to help him despite many a(prenominal) thoughts that Malcolm is the one who murdered Duncan. Edward can see Malcolm innocence and kindly offers him a safe haven where he can regroup. The qualities of kingship seen in Edward are that of transparenty, bounty and holiness, all adhering to the fore-mentioned king becoming graces. This example of a most slight king would have impressed King James of England at the time as it was widely known that King James was a descendent of King Edwards.Malcolm, Duncans son and rightful heir to the throne, does not become king until the final scene of the play but still we are left feeling Scotland is in safe hands. Malcolm shows his qualities earlier in the play and from this we can see just what kind of king he is discharge to be. The anointing of Malcolm as king of Scotland restores natural order after the bestial reign of Macbeth. We feel as if Malcolm will be fair and truthful as king and we know he understands what is expected of him, as he was in fact the character who listed the king becoming graces such as justice, verity, temperance We see he is a better judge of character than that of his late father as before trusting Macduff, he tests his loyalty to Scotland. He also understands how the power associated with being in king can easily go to ones head, no matte r how honest they whitethorn seem previous, a good virtuous nature may recoil in an imperial charge. Before we learn of any of this, we know Malcolm resides in the palace of King Edward, this association alone causes us to mechanically characterise Malcolm with goodness and honesty.Malcolm is respected and liked by the people, this is show by the fact that he was able to bring together an army of ten thousand to fight against the tyrant Macbeth. With Malcolm as king, we see peace and iodine once again being restored to Scotland, Hail king of Scotland. The only review I would have of Malcolm is the fact that he rewards directly, all those who have been loyal to him, my thanes and kinsmen, hensforth be Earls. This action reminds us of Duncans hasty reaction of appointing Macbeth as Thane of Cowdor. He rewarded immediately Macbeths seemed bravery but paid most dearly for it. I could not help but wonder if Malcolm may perhaps suffer a similar fate. We see in all the kings mention ed in Macbeth, many differences. These differences allow us to contrast the characters and explore profoundly the theme of kingship in the play. In Macbeth, we see an unnatural king which causes chaos in his country.He rules with terror and evil. Duncan was a king who rules with peace and honesty, but his trusting nature unfortunately lead to his untimely death. In two Malcolm and Edward, we see good kings who appear to possess and understand the qualities needed to be king. Although it can be said that a fault may be seen in Malcolms character, this is no more than a suggestion, and I feel that his positive traits as King overwrite this. At the end of the play we are left feeling satisfied that has been left in safe hands.