Despite the vast authority and power that Duncan commanded, he never became too high above others too pay a compliment towards a commendable recipient, as seen when he announces “true worthy Banquo, he is full so valiant.” This is one of many compliments we see, of which a noteable quantity are aimed towards Macbeth and Banquo for their bravery during the battle, revealing several aspects about his character. This may suggest that as a person he is a kind, praiseful person, but as a king this could be seen as a negative aspect. The fact that he will so readily praise people beneath him may be perceived as a sign of weakness as he is creating a step by which those below him may feel they can ascend to his level. He even treats his servants with the same reverence that they treat him, this may seem like a positive characteristic to display at a glance but it weakens his position as the high and mighty, regal, authoritarian figure he should be in order to command power to show effectiveness as a king.
His position is seen to be weakened further by the fact that he fails to lead his country into war. A great king must be seen to show leadership, heroism and audacity and should be 100% dedicated to the country. Macbeth and Banquo display these qualities whereas Duncan himself took up a very inactive role during the conflict, merely relying on messangers to keep him updated. At one point Duncan uses animal imagery to describe Banquo and Macbeth to be like a lion and an eagle. I believe that this is a device used by Shakespeare to imply that both men can be very violent and fearce. The fact that he isn’t omniscient and is constantly asking questions about the progress of the battle solidifies this point. His only input is dictating the orders, and perhaps this is what he can be most useful for. As he is quite old, his battle skills may be quite restricted, and we associate age with wisdom so arguably his best place was as tactician. Nevertheless, his decision to remain away from the battlefield must be viewed as a sign of weakness as a king, which ultimately leads to ineffectiveness, as he is expected to lead his country in war with bravery and leadership, not take a back seat. Despite his unwillingness to actively fight in battle, he shows no such reluctance in punishing those individuals who do wrong against him or betray him. This is evident during the execution of the Thane Of Cawdor, after which he rewards Macbeth with the title. This quickly turns around our opinion of Duncan as he is seen to punish those who do wrong and recognise and reward those who do right, adding to his effectiveness as a king.
Duncans entrance in scene 4 is accompanied with a flourish of trumpets and he and his sons once more enter in hierarchical order, once more solidifying his authority and highest position. The fact that a flourish of trumpets now assists his entrance suggests that his importance has actually grown now that the war is over, despite the fact he did not even fight in it. The venue this time is his palace, which further emphasises his royal figure. He clearly sets out his intentions on entrance, his first words relating to the Thane and his crime of betrayal. This reveals great efficiency as a punisher of wrongdoing. He ignores the Thanes pleas for pardon, showing his single mindedness and severity against those who betray him, both vital characteristics of a superior king. This execution will set a good example for those who may be thinking of betraying him in the future and it is this that adds to the efficiency as a king. During the execution, Duncan states “there’s no art to find the minds construction in the face” this shows that he is shrewd in comprehension the complexity of human nature by noting that one cannot really trust someone without knowing what’s going on inside their head. Again, here, he is displaying positive attributes that add to his effectiveness as king. However, he chooses not to witness the execution and the fact that he was not present on the battlefield would suggest that he finds it hard to confront death, which could be viewed as ineffectiveness as a king.
Shakespeare then uses dramatic irony as the Thanes title is ironically passed onto Macbeth, who is scheming also to betray him. I think this is an attempt by Shakespeare to imply that Duncan is a bad judge of character, and despite his high and mighty status, he remains very vulnerable. The fact that he is placing all of his trust again in the one man who is thirsty for his blood proves this. In positions of stature such as his, Duncan must choose cautiously who to trust. This naivety creates another negative aspect of his character that, in turn, creates more uncertainty over his effectiveness as king. However, we must also consider the fact that Duncan has no reason not to trust Macbeth. He has just saved his country from defeat and has also been very loyal to his country, therefore one could perhaps forgive Duncan for placing so much trust in Macbeth. Duncan then insists that he cannot repay Macbeth, perhaps another example of Duncan lowering himself, making others fell able to stand at his level.
As we near the death of Duncan, we again see his vulnerability and poor judgement as a person . As he enters the castle he is greeted by lady Macbeth, who acts innocent despite knowing his eventual destiny. Duncan proceeds to praise Lady Macbeth, another example of him lowering himself to the level of those below him as women especially featured very low in the hierarchical order of the Jacobean society. He then praises Macbeth once more, again showing naeivity in his judgement of character, however, as mentioned before, he can be forgiven for this as there is no outstanding evidence that he should not place his trust in Macbeth.
In conclusion, I think Duncan possessed many positive attributes which generated a degree of effectiveness as king. He was swift to punish the wrong and commend the valiant. His single mindedness made him very authoritive and would have put fear and hesitation in the mind of anyone plotting to do wrong or plot against him. However, it is clear that his negative characteristics outweighed the positive. He failed to show leadership and bravery in battle, two vital qualities essential for an effective king. He also indicated that he may be guilty of misplacing his trust, a flaw which may prove fatal to a person of his position, for him and the country. However he could perhaps be forgiven due to the fact that he had no reason to not trust Macbeth. However, it is due to this detrimental characteristic that I have concluded that he was ineffective as a king, agreeing with what he was perceived to be historically.
