Kingship in Macbeth Essay

In his first appearance, faggot Duncan performs two of the introductory duties of a female monarch punishing the corky and rewarding the pricy. Upon learning of the fraud of Cawdor and the heroism of Macbeth, he says, No more that thane of Cawdor sh every(prenominal) deceive / Our bosom liaison go pronounce his present immediate death, / And with his condition title greet Macbeth (1.2.63-65). The style bosom interest promoter vital interests, further if bosom suggests that a relationship of love should exist amidst a exponent and his subject. presently after the witches hail him as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and office hereafter (1.3.50), Macbeth receives the news that he has been named Thane of Cawdor. This news throws him into a reverie, in which he says to himself, Two uprightnesss be t hoary, / As happy prologues to the swelling act / Of the imperial theme (1.3.127-129). Macbeths illustration is dramatic, or musical he instructms to be imagining himself as ma male monarch a grand entrance as king, or maybe as an emperor, a king of kings.Just as the fag is commenting on the treachery of the former Thane of Cawdor, in comes the new Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth. The faggot greets Macbeth as worthiest cousin (1.4.14) and says in several(prenominal) different ways that he cant thank him enough. Macbeth answers with g every(prenominal)ant modesty that The service and the loyalty I owe, / In doing it, pays itself (1.4.22-23). That is, its requital enough to know that he did the right intimacy as a loyal servant of the magnate. Then Macbeth adds, Your highness giveIs to receive our duties and our dutiesargon to your throne and state stateliness, dignity children and servants, Which do scarce what they should, by doing every thingSafe toward your love and honour. (1.4.23-27)Safe toward means to secure or to caution the idea is that it is every subjects duty to do everything he can for the king, both to re run the king safe and to earn the kings love and respect. Macbeths speech pictures King Duncan as the benignant father of a happy family, entirely Macbeth is already thinking to the highest degree killing him.When noblewomilitary personnel Macbeth receives her husbands letter or so the witches prophecies, she is unless worried that her husband is too full o the milk of human smorgasbordness / To catch the fullest way (1.5.17-18). But shes au sotic she has no such problem, and shes eager for the chance to make him adjoin things her way. Holding the letter, and speaking to Macbeth ( level off though he hasnt arrived yet) she says, Hie thee hither, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear / And moderate with the valor of my tongue / All that impedes thee from the golden round, (1.5.25-28).We might say that shes liberation to nag him, precisely she believes that she is going to enable him to reach his potential. She leave behind chastise (make him ashamed of) everything in him that prevents him fro m being malign enough to be king. Shortly, Macbeth appears and tells her that King Duncan leave be staying with them that night. noblewoman Macbeth decl ars that King Duncan will never chip in their stronghold alive and advises Macbeth to be a good hypocrite. He must(prenominal) give the king a warm welcome, the better to kill him that night. plain Macbeth shows a little reluctance, because she says, He thats comingMust be provided for and you shall(a) putThis nights capacious business into my dispatchWhich shall to all our nights and days to comeGive solely sovereign sway and masterdom (1.5.66-70) supreme means not only kingly but in addition absolute. Lady Macbeth is telling her husband that if he will only do as she tells him, they will be king and queen, with power over all. To her, the essence of kingship is unkind power.When King Duncan is greeted by Lady Macbeth, he makes a little mockery about the social difficulties of being king. He says to herSee, see, our honour d air hostessThe love that follows us sometime is our disturb,Which notwithstanding we thank as love. herein I teach youHow you shall bid God ield us for your pains,And thank us for your trouble. (1.6.10-14)Duncans whole speech is based on our ancient usance of a guest formulation something corresponding I dont want to trouble you, and the host replying with some version of Its my plea authorized. By saying that his peoples love is sometimes his trouble, King Duncan is saying that his loving people go to a great deal of trouble for him, and hes troubled by the fact that they take all that trouble. Nevertheless, when people take trouble for him, he knows that they do it because they love their king, and so he thanks them for their love. Next, referring to himself royally as us, the King jokingly tells Lady Macbeth that hes saying all of this so that instead of him thanking her for victorious trouble she will thank God and him for giving her trouble.While King Duncan is at dinn er Macbeth almost talks himself out of the transfer. He reflects that King Duncan is a good king, not arrogant or selfish. Macbeth says to himself that the king Hath borne his faculties royal powers so meek, hath been / So clear uncorrupted in his great office, that his virtues / Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation of his taking-off (1.7.17-20).The day after the slay of King Duncan, Ross speaks with an old man. The Old humans memories go back seventy years, but nothing he can remember compares to what has happened during this night I construct seen / Hours dreadful and things strange but this sore night / Hath trifled former knowings (2.4.2-4). Ross replies Ah, good father, / Thou seest, the heavens, as troubled with mans act, / Threaten his damn stage (2.4.4-6). The heavens are the heavens above, where God lives, and they are besides the upper regions of Shakespeares Globe theater. Ross is saying that the heavens fr proclaim angrily (threaten ) as they look down upon man playing his part on the stage of life, which has been made spread over by the murder of King Duncan. King Duncan should have been honored and loved, so his murder was violent, and Ross and the Old Man go on to tell each other of all the unnatural things that have been happening lately.They do not know that Macbeth is the murderer, but as they speak we can see that the unnatural events reflect the contrast between King Duncan and Macbeth. The Old Man says that On Tuesday last, / A track down, towering in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawkd at and killd (2.4.11-13). The falcons pride of place is the highest testify of its flight. And the owl, which usually catches mice on the ground, went up instead of down, and killed a falcon. Also, a falcon is a day creature, and a royal companion, while the owl is an untamable snicker of night and death. If things in nature stands for things in human life, King Duncan was the falcon, and Macbeth the o wl.even worse, King Duncans horses, Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, / Turnd raving mad in nature, broke their stalls, flung out, / Contending gainst obedience, as they would make / War with mankind. (2.4.15-18) A minion is someones favorite. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were King Duncans minions. The King showered them with honors and gifts, but they turned wild and made war on their master. Thus the express is made that Macbeths murder of his king is a crime against nature.Just before he sends the murderers to kill Banquo, Macbeth has a soliloquy in which he states his caution of Banquo. He says that Banquo has royalty of nature (3.1.49), and courage, and wisdom. Macbeth also says, under him, / My Genius is rebuked (3.1.54-55). A mans Genius is his guardian spirit, but Macbeth isnt being curiously mystic here. He feels that Banquo is naturally superior to him, and just being near Banquo makes Macbeth feel ashamed of himself. For example, he recalls, Banquo defied th e witches and challenged them to speak to him. (In contrast, we should remember, the witches prophecy put Macbeth into a kind of trance, a reverie of ambition and murder.) In short, Macbeth feels that Banquo is more admit to be king than he is, and for that, hes going to murder him.After he becomes king, Macbeth has a secondment when he tries to be the kind of king that King Duncan was, secondary and mild. At his feast Macbeth welcomes everyone, saying, You know your own degrees sit down. At first / And last the hearty welcome (3.4.1-2). The degrees of the guests are their social ranks. Normally, each guest would receive an individual greeting and then be escorted to his seat, with the highest ranking person sitting c getst to the king, and the undermentioned highest the next closest, etc. Macbeth tells them that they know where they should sit, and welcomes everyone at once. He will play the humble host (3.4.4), and sit among them, showing how friendly and down-to- footing he i s, even though he is now the king. However, he cant keep up his act because un uninvited guest shows up Banquos bloody ghost.Lennox and another Scottish lord have a confabulation in which both of them refer to Macbeth as a despot. Its clear from their conversation that life under a tyrant is a life of fear and lies. Because Macbeth has many spies, they hire to be careful what they say and to whom they say it. As the scene opens, they have just gotten to the point at which they are sure that they are on the aforementioned(prenominal) side and have many of the same thoughts. As Lennox says, My former speeches have but hit your thoughts, / Which can take further (3.6.1-2). Perhaps the other Lord nods agreement, because Lennox now launches on a string of sarcasms about Macbeth. Lennox says, The gracious Duncan / Was pitied of Macbeth marry, he was dead (3.6.4). This bitter conjuring trick describes both Macbeths facade that he was sorry for King Duncan and the truth about Macbe th, which was that he was sorry for King Duncan only after he killed him.Then Lennox proceeds to ridicule Macbeths version of everything that has happened to this point. Banquo died because he took a walk after dark, and Fleance must have killed him, because Fleance ran away. And speaking of that, wasnt it dangerous for Malcolm and Donalbain to kill their father? And of course Macbeth felt terrible about Duncans murder, which is why he killed the only two possible witnesses, Duncans grooms. If Malcolm, Donalbain, and Fleance were in Macbeths power, hed certainly teach them a lesson or two about killing a father After a bit, Lennox drops the sarcasm and turns to the subject of Macduff. He has heard that Macduff has gotten on Macbeths bad side because Macduff used some broad words (3.6.21) about Macbeth, and because he failed to show up for Macbeths banquet.Does the other Lord know, Lennox asks, where Macduff might be? The other Lord does know. Macduff is on his way to the English court, where Malcolm has been respectfully authoritative by King Edward the Confessor. Macduff has gone to plead with King Edward to help Malcolm by sending to Scotland the forces of Northumberland and Siward, two English nobles famous as warriors. If Macduff is successful, Scotland will be freed of Macbeths tyranny. Then we may again / Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights, / lay off from our feasts and banquets bloody knives, / Do faithful homage and receive free honor (3.6.33-36). Under Macbeths tyranny, fear of his bloody knife darkens every moment of a persons life. In contrast to this reign of terror, a true king is given faithful homage and he awards uninvolved honours. Free honours are given by a king in recognition of service they are free in the sand that person honored doesnt have to be a tyrants yes-man in order to receive them.When Macbeth seeks out the witches, he curses them, calls them hags, and demands that they answer his questions. They give him their prophecies, the last of which is that Banquo will be the progenitor of a long line of kings, stretching to James of Scotland and England. Macbeth is stunned, and the first witch says that they will cheer him up with music and a dance, so That this great king may kindly say, / Our duties did his welcome pay (4.1.131-132). The witch is being sarcastic. Macbeth is a tyrant, even to witches, and gave them no welcome they repaid his angry demand for answers with deceptive and terrorization duties their prophecies. As the witches are the opposite of dutiful subjects, Macbeth is the opposite of a great and kindly kingIn England, Macduff pleads with Malcolm to lead an army against Macbeth. Eventually, Malcolm says that he will, but first he tests Macduffs intentions. He wants to find out if Macduff wants what is outgo for Scotland, or just wants to defeat Macbeth. Malcolm begins his test by saying that Scotland will suffer even more after Macbeth is crushed. The rationality Malcolm will be more evil than Macbeth. First, Malcolm says that he will be so full-blooded that your wives, your daughters, / Your matrons and your maids, could not fill up / The cistern of my lust (4.3.61-63). Macduffs response is more than a little wimpy. He says that uncontrolled lust is bad, but hes sure that Scotland can provide Malcolm with enough volition women to satisfy him. But Malcolm goes on to declare that hes also so avaricious that were I king, / I should cut off the nobles for their lands, / thirst his jewels and this others house / And my more-having would be as a sauce / To make me hunger more (4.3.78-82).Macduff admits that avarice in a king is even worse than lust, but hes sure that Scotland has copiousness enough to satisfy Malcolm. Such lust and avarice would be bearable, equilibrate against good qualities. But I have none (4.3.91), Malcolm answers. He goes on to assert that he has not a single virtue that a king needs. Not only that, but he is positively evil, so ev il that had I power, I should / Pour the sweet milk of have got into hell, / Uproar the universal peace, confound / All unity on earth (4.3.97-100). After describing himself as the worst possible person on the incline of the earth, Malcolm then asks Macduff if someone like him is fit to govern. Fit to govern / No, not to live (4.3.102-103), Macduff bursts out. Then he laments the fate of Scotland and is about to storm off, but Malcolm calls him back and unsays everything hes just said about himself. He is, he now says, chaste, generous, and trustworthy. In short, he will be a true king, not the tyrant that Macbeth is.After the tyranny of Macbeth is contrasted with the goodness of Macduff and Malcolm, we are again reminded of what a good king should be. A doctor enters and tells Macduff and Malcolm that a crowd of sick people are waiting to be vulcanized by the English king. Their sickness cant be corned by doctors, but only by the king at his share / Such sanctity hath heaven g iven his hand / They presently better (4.3.143-145). The doctor leaves, and Macduff asks what disease he was talking about. Malcolm explains, Tis calld the evil (4.3.146). (The disease is scrofula, which causes ugly swellings of glands in the neck.It was called the kings evil because of the hot idea that a holy king could cure it by touch the diseased person.) Malcolm goes on to speak of what a miracle-worker the English king is. He brings Gods healing power to his people, and its a wonder, because How he solicits heaven, / Himself best knows (4.3.150). In addition to being able to heal the sick, the English king hath a supernal gift of prophecy, / And sundry blessings hang about his throne (4.3.157-158). Malcolm doesnt mention Macbeth, but the only apparent reason for this description of the English king is to provide a picture of heavenly good to contrast with Macbeths hellish evil. Shortly after, news comes of Macbeths most recent act of tyranny the slaughter of Macduffs deso late wife and children.When she walks in her sleep, Lady Macbeth relives the moment just after the murder of King Duncan, when her husband could do nothing except stare at his bloody hands holding the bloody daggers. In her sleep she says to him, What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?(5.1.37-39). Her point is that Macbeth is king (or about to be) and therefore it doesnt matter who knows that he murder King Duncan. She thinks (or thought) that kingly power would solve all problems, but it doesnt save her from madness.When he is brought news of the approach of the English army, Macbeth knows that he could lose the battle, and he tries to find a way to accept defeat. In a famous passage, he tells himself that his life is not worth living I have lived long enough my way of lifeIs falln into the sear, the yellow leafAnd that which should accompany old age,As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,I must not look to have but, in their stead,Curses, no t moth-eaten but deep, mouth-honour, breath,Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. (5.3.22-28) We can see that Macbeth now understands the consequences of being a tyrant. He rules only by fear, which means that all those he rules hate him.Standing before Dunsinane, Siward, the leader of the English troops, comments to Malcolm We learn no other but the confident tyrant / Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure / Our setting down before t. ) He means that Macbeth seems to be so confident of the strength of his castle that hes willing to let his enemies lay siege to it, alternatively than going on the attack. Malcolm replies that Macbeth really doesnt have a survival Both more and less have given him the revolt, / And none serve with him but constrained things / Whose hearts are absent too . By more and less Malcolm means both the nobles and the common soldiers Macbeth the tyrant controls only those who are within reach of his sword.In the final scene, Macduff, carryi ng Macbeths creative thinker on a pole, hails Malcolm as king of Scotland and says, Behold, where stands / The usurpers ill-omened head the time is free . The time is free because they are all now free of Macbeths reign of terror over Scotland. Macduff then leads the men in a shout of victory and loyalty. He says, I see thee compassd with thy kingdoms pearl, / That speak my salutation in their minds / Whose voices I desire aloud with mine / Hail, King of Scotland . Macduff knows that these thanes already think of Malcolm as their king, and now he asks them to join him in cheering out loud, Hail, King of Scotland And so they do, honoring Malcolm, above whose head looms the severed head of Macbeth.