We see Duncan to be a poor judge of character. This is shown at the beginning of Macbeth, when he punishes the Thane of Cawdor for betraying him. The quotation:
“To find the mind’s construction in the face
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust”
is in reference to the old Thane of Cawdor. This poor judgement is later presented to us again when Duncan gives Macbeth with the title Thane of Cawdor, a man who will also betray him. Despite this, Duncan wants well for Scotland. He thinks of the country as his garden where he sows seeds to enable him to have a good harvest the following year.
Duncan is naturally a King and therefore, when he dies unnatural things happen, for example, on the night of his death Lennox records:
“The Night has been unruly. Where we lay,
Our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say,
Lamenting’s heard i’the air, strange screams of death,
And prophesying, with accents terrible,
Of dire combustion and unusual events”
It is sacrilegious that Duncan is dead. Nature has been dissolved in the Kings blood and Scotland is now in chaos. Even when dead, Duncan is still referred to as “Gracious Duncan”, and remains respected.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen to be a worthy and brave member of the army and he acts respectfully towards the King. After hearing the Witches predictions, Macbeth immediately begins to think of ways to gain himself Kingship, one of the first being murder. It is ironic that Macbeth gains the title Thane of Cawdor because the previous Thane had betrayed the King and now Macbeth is to do the same. When it comes to murdering the King and Macbeth becomes nervous, Lady Macbeth urges him on to commit the murder telling him:
“Look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent underneath it”
Macbeth, during one of his soliloquies finds many reasons not to kill Duncan and only one reason why he should, ambition. This alone is enough for Macbeth to kill the King and Macbeth is killing the garden which Duncan has planted and nurtured.
In act III, Scene II Macbeth is planning to kill Banquo because he knows too much. He is in control and giving orders to the murderers unlike when he killed Duncan and he didn’t know what was happening. Macbeth has gained his ambition, but he is not happy because he is insecure as King with Banquo and Fleance still alive. Macbeth tells that he would rather be in Duncan’s position and away from danger than his own. When Macbeth calls on the darkness, it is as if he were calling on evil to assist him. Instead of gaining kingship through God and the Divine Right of King’s, he has gained it through evil. Throughout the play, Macbeth is often associated with darkness, and darkness with the devil. Once he has committed one bad thing, he continues down that path as in the quotation:
“I am so far steeped in blood,
It is easier to continue than to
Turn back”
At the banquet, Macbeth begins by acting jovially and as a good King, but when he hallucinates and sees Banquo his manner changes and Macbeth insists, out loud, that the killing wasn’t his fault. With this happening, the feast turns from being orderly to being chaotic which is ironically similar to Scotland moving from the rule of Duncan to that of Macbeth.
Macbeth finds he is so insecure as King that he must again find the Witches to get another prediction, and to plant spies in the houses of Lords. This is the opposite of Duncan’s rule because Duncan trusted people and was secure in his position. In a discussion between Lennox and a Lord, Macbeth is found to be correct in his insecurity. He is referred to by the pair as a “tyrant”. Scotland at this time is falling under Macbeth’s leadership and is described by Lennox as having no meat on the tables and no sleep at night. Scotland is referred to as:
“our suffering country,
Under a hand accursed”
When Macbeth hears of Macduff fleeing to England he immediately decides to kill his wife and son. Macbeth has now moved to killing innocent people, who are not hindering him from his ambitions in any way. Macbeth decides to order it to be done before he can change his mind for the better.
As Burnham Wood approaches Dunsanaine, Macbeth realises he was tricked by the Witches and is aware of his stupidity for trusting them.
“I pull in resolution, and begin
To doubt the equivocation of the fiend
That lies like truth ‘Fear not till Burnham Wood
Do come to Dunsanaine”
At the end of the play, whilst fighting Macduff Macbeth again realises his own stupidity for trusting the Witches with the quotation:
“Accursed be that tongue that tells me so;
For it hath cowed my better part of man;
And be these juggling fiends no more believed
That palter with us in a double sense,
That keep the word of promise to our ear
And break it to our hope”
Malcolm, the son of Duncan, is too generous in his praise of the Generals after their battle and grateful for what they did for Scotland. Malcolm himself is not seen as a valiant warrior because he was captured during battle and had to be rescued. He was happy to leave the praise to others and acted respectfully towards his Father. When Malcolm hears of his Father’s death, he flees, realising that people are false and their faces deceiving.
“To show an unfelt sorrow is an office
Which the false man does easy”
Malcolm is again shown to have a good judge of character when he tests Macduff, showing he is more astute than his Father was and is aware that not all facades are true.
When leading his army to kill Macbeth, Malcolm gives commands they are followed. The soldiers trust Malcolm and believe in his leadership in contrast to Macbeth whose subjects desert him when they see Malcolm approaching. At the end of the play, Malcolm tells of how he intends to restore order to Scotland, plant his father’s garden newly, kill the followers of Macbeth and invite back the good men who fled. He does this in an attempt to return Scotland to its former state and make it again a good, safe country.
We never meet Edward in Macbeth, but hear of him throughout the play. He is a worthy King and referred to as “the most pious Edward” who has received Malcolm “with such grace”. Edward gives Malcolm his soldiers to use against Macbeth to return order to Scotland. Edward is true to the Divine Right of Kings and has the healing powers of Jesus.
From reading this play, I believe that Shakespeare’s ideal King would be one like Edward or Malcolm. Both are God serving, just and respected. Macbeth is Shakespeare’s impression of a bad king. He is unfair, overcome by evil, avaricious and not true to the Divine Right of Kings. Duncan is seen to be a good King, but he is not a good judge of character and is unaware of how people put on a false façade. Malcolm is thought to be so good, because he has all of his Father’s good points but not his bad ones.
