Duncan is viewed as a flawless King who endorses other people’s devotion and morality and is appalled at the late thane’s treachery, something that Duncan wholly opposes.
“There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust”.
I think that this shows that he is far too trusting of people and doesn’t use his supremacy as much as he should. This later on proves catastrophic for him as he readily begins to trust Macbeth and embraces an invite to his house lacking the appropriate guardianship, as a result of this he is then murdered.
Even after Duncan’s death people retain their respect for him and their views are consistent throughout the play and all commend him. This is also true for Macbeth because his admiration extends even after he has murdered Duncan as he refers to the late King as “gracious”.
Macbeth however, is the character who is the main focus after Duncan is killed. It is evident that at the beginning Macbeth has good intentions and strives to be comparable to Duncan, yet he falls short of this and as a result of this he becomes relentless and unyielding.
Ambition is Macbeth’s fatal flaw because he allows the witches and his wife to incapacitate his morality.
“He’s here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself”.
Macbeth is acutely aware of the duty he owes to Duncan, yet his curbing ambition prevents his from taking the right causes of action and murders Duncan. In doing this he has usurped the throne, which should rightfully be Malcolm’s.
It is after Duncan’s murder that Macbeth becomes a resentful, unstable and psychotic. He then resorts to killing out fear rather than having to trust anyone. He also becomes ever more fraternised with the forces of evil and exhibits a notion of Kingship opposing to that of which Duncan presented. Subsequent to Duncan’s assassination many comment on the abnormal disturbances and how the environment can mirror a distressing occurrence.
“On Tuesday last a falcon, towering in her pride of place was by a mousing old hawk’d at and kill’d”
The falcon’s place of flight is usually high up in the sky, soaring above the other creatures. The owl however, habitually catches mice on the ground. Nevertheless, in this circumstance the owl flew upwards and killed the falcon. I think that the characteristics of these creatures can be comparable to Duncan and Macbeth. This is because a falcon is a day creature and a royal companion, while the owl is an untameable bird of night and death. Therefore I think that King Duncan can be likened to the falcon and Macbeth, to the owl.
Another time when animals have reacted to an event is King Duncan’s horses.
“Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race tuned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out. Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would make war with mankind.”
This is very similar to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth inasmuch as both were Duncan’s minions to whom he trusted and showered them with gratuity and reverence. But both disobeyed him, turned wild and made war on their leader.
It is also insinuated that the heavens are apprehensive about the inescapable Kingship of Macbeth.
“Seest the heavens, as troubled with man’s act”
It is at this moment in the play that everyone has recognised that Macbeth cannot fulfil his predecessor’s duty.
Whilst Scotland is under Macbeth’s reign of tyranny he massacres many virtuous people as he is fearful of their or their close relatives potential greatness. One of the main emphases in this play is that when there is a bad King, the nation suffers. This is very palpable in the play and several characters talk about how unsettled they and their country are becoming.
“Each new morn, new widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows strike heaven on the face. That it resounds as if it felt with Scotland, and yelled out like a syllable of dolour.”
Scotland has lost all respect for Macbeth and his Leadership as he lets
“Good things begin to droop and drowse” Whilst “Things bad begun to make themselves strong by ill.”
Macbeth has become obsessive with his power and trusts nobody. It is later on in the play that he realises how out of control he has become. In one of the last scenes the audience see of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth together he explains to her that if he doesn’t stop murdering people to secure his power he might loose what he has.
“I am blood stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
Macbeth lacks the attributes to stop the plague of evil that followed his Kingship. This is very unlike any other King of that time, who it was believed could perform miracle cures, yet Macbeth cannot cure himself of his ill doings and hunger for power. It seems that Macbeth is desperately trying to secure his power, yet in doing this he is making himself very unsecure mentally.
He has lost the loyalty and love that he attained when he started. Macbeth is sick at heart and tries to maintain security through foul means. Continual murders cause him to lose his conscience and to be labelled the “bloody tyrant.”
Due to Macbeth’s ill leadership, many of Scotland is untrustworthy of their reigning King and of other members of society since Macbeth has planted infiltrators in every household. This situation is very evident in the scene with Malcolm and Macduff, it is here that Malcolm tests Macduff’s loyalty to his country by falsifying and saying that he would be much more unyielding than Macbeth is.
“The cistern of my lust, and my desire all continent impediments would o’erbear that did oppose my will.”
Malcolm is the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland by divine right and will always appear to be a worthy King who would act after thinking about an appropriate solution. However in this scene with Macduff he speaks very out of character, testing to see if Macduff is still true to Scotland, or has he turned evil like most of the citizens of Scotland who are now employed as spies by Macbeth. At the end of the play Malcolm’s last words
“What’s more to do which would be planted newly with time.”
Are very similar and seems to echo his late father’s, Duncan, word. This then proves that Malcolm shall become just as worthy a King as his father to restore Scotland back to its former glory.
However there is one character in Macbeth that appears untainted, nevertheless in real life his character is far from blameless. This is the honourable Banquo, to whom in the play Macbeth is jealous of.
“In his royalty of nature reigns that which would be fear’d”
Here Macbeth is saying how Banquo has a natural nobility of character, and that is admirable in a person.
Yet Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ is an adaptation of a true story, written for King James I, to whom he was a descendant of Banquo. In the true story Banquo accompanied Macbeth in assassinating Duncan. But evidently it would have been discourteous for Macbeth to insinuate that James I descended from a regicide. Therefore for political reasons Shakespeare modified the story line so as not to displease James I. Another issue Shakespeare had to overcome was how to delineate the assassination of Duncan, considering this to would be inappropriate to stage in front of the King, as once again this could be very abhorrent. Consequently to resolve this quandary Duncan’s murder takes place offstage.
From this play there are many messages that Shakespeare tries to portray to his readers. One of them being that in becoming too obsessive of power and fearful of the future one will loose many more assets than gained.
However the most poignant being that obsessive power or ambition not achieved through our own abilities is fated to lead to total disaster, which in Macbeth’s case was death.
