Was Duncan a weak king? In the time of Shakespeare maybe not, but in the present day he would definitely not be reigning over England. A king is someone who has authority, someone who is strong and stern, someone

A final flaw in Duncan's personal qualities is his gullibility. Macbeth wanted to become king after fighting for Duncan heroically in battle but Duncan gave the kingship to his son who was taken captive and could be regarded as a bit of a wimp. Duncan honoured Macbeth by coming to stay at his castle, this is shown in Act 1 Scene 5. "True, worthy Banquo; he is full so valiant, and in his commendations I am fed: it is banquet to me. Let's after him, whose care is gone before to bid us welcome: It is a peerless kinsman." Duncan comes at night by horseback, he rides on a white horse showing purity and good as shown in the BBC Production of Macbeth, but it is night and it is very dark which shows evil. When Duncan arrives at the castle he says "This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air nimbly and sweetly recommends itself unto our gentle senses." What Duncan does not realise is that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have planned to kill Duncan in his sleep, but of course Duncan has been too gullible to realise this.

Another bad fault with Duncan is shown through what he says and does. One example of what he says and how this make him a less effective king is shown in Act 1 Scene 4. "Thou art so far before, that swiftest wing of recompense is slow to overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deserved, that the proportion both of thanks and payment might have been mine! Only I have left to say, more is thy due than more than all I can pay."

This shows that he relies on his subjects a lot, possibly too much and also that he thinks he cannot repay them or thank them enough for what they have done. But Duncan is king and they are his subjects so really he should not need to thank them as it is their duty to be loyal and fight for the king.

A final bad point shown through what Duncan says and does is the way that he over praises his subjects. An example of this is in Act 1 Scene 4. "O worthiest cousin."

This is a superlative and shows and Duncan does not need to do this. Duncan is also very complimentary towards women who at this time were not as important as men. This is shown in Act 1 Scene 6. "See, see! Our honoured hostess."

The third bad point which I would like to make about Duncan is about how he treats others through rewards and punishments. Duncan executes the Thane of Cawdor when he betrays him. I think this is very harsh. I also think that it is a bit of an over reaction on Duncan's behalf. An example of Duncan rewarding someone was when he rewards Macbeth with the title "Thane of Cawdor". He doesn't stop to think when he rewards Macbeth and he gave the tile to him with no hesitation and no further questions asked to get to know some more information about Macbeth. He could have been giving the title to anyone, I think that Duncan needs to think before he acts.

A final bad point which I would like to make about Duncan is about the relevant social, cultural and historical context related to kingship. The Divine Right Of Kings says that the king owned his rule to the will of God, anyone who tried to remove the king was going against the will of God. So really Duncan did not need to praise, honour, thank or respect his subjects as if anyone tried to remove him as king or restrict his powers were going against the will of God.

In conclusion I would just like to say that Duncan is weak as, he is very inconsistent in his decision making and he makes decisions on the spot. This is bad as he could be pressured into making the wrong choice. Duncan praises his subjects too much and regards them as being more worthy than him when he says he cant thank them enough, but Duncan does not need to thank them or reward them as they are only carrying out their duty. Also Duncan is a very old king, he does not fight in battle and couldn't boost his men's moral when they are fighting. Ideally his subjects need a role model in battle. Finally Duncan is definitely not a thinker as he always seems to act before thinking of consequences or asking questions also showing signs of ignorance.

English Coursework

Matt Meaklim