Kingship in Macbeth Essay

The theme of powerfulnessship is mavin which toilette be gather up forever through and throughout the play. This makes sense as the play is ultimately a tri providede to King James I, who was queen mole rat when Macbeth was written in 1606. King James strongly believed that adequate king was a divine properly and that they themselves, as kings, were Gods representatives on earth. All these aspects give the axe be seen from beginning to end of Macbeth and we see how when this order of kings is c give eared by un inborn means, everyone suffers. During the course of the play we see the traits of four kings Duncan, Macbeth, Edward and Malcolm.Through the reign of for each one of these kings, we are sh give clearly how a country is still stable if the king is good and virtuous. In Shakespearean times, a king had absolute power and the welfare of the state depended strongly on him. All wad were similar to King James in the belief that kings were appointed by divine right, and had to possess the king becoming lenitys of, justice, verity, temperance, bounty, perseverance, stableness, lowliness and devotion. When the play opens, we see Duncan as king.He himself admit that there is not art to purpose the minds construction in the face. This inability to sound out people well, ultimately leads to his downfall. The original Thane of Cowdor, a man in whom I Duncan placed upmost trust rebelled against Scotland when under the reign of Duncan, something which Duncan could not foresee. similar happened with Macbeth. Duncan trusted Macbeth and saw him as a brave and valiant cousin. Duncans trusting of Macbeth lead to his own untimely death. We can see clearly Duncans weakness as king he trusts excessively easily.We can also see the traits of a good king in his caliber as his punishes those who force treason (Thane of Cowdor), and rewards those who are brave and loyal (Banquo and Macbeth), go announce his present death and with his former surname greet Ma cbeth. It is clear that people respected Duncan as king and his godliness can be seen in the words expressed by Macduff when he is murdered, most sac religious murder hath broke ope the noblemans anointed temple and stolen the life hense. Ironically Macbeth himself praises and acknowledges Duncans qualities, Duncan hath borne his faculties so soft. When Macbeth becomes king, we see the opposite to Duncan. Macbeth reigns with terror and has uniform feelings of paranoia, trusting no one, to be thus is nothing, only if to be safely thus, we have scorched the snake, not killed it, our fears in Banquo stick deep. Macbeths reign cannot be succeeded by his children as he became king through a sinful and un inbred act of regicide, upon my head they placed a fruitless crown. , During this time, regiside was considered to be one of the most unforgivable crimes possible- the killing of Gods chosen representative on Earth.This act only if show that Macbeth will rule as a king of terro r. His reign is characterised by instability, he has reverse natural order and this can be seen reflected in the natural world around him, thou seest the orbit as troubled with mans act .. by the clock tis day and yet gloomy light stangles the travelling lamp. The crazy house and disorder seen in Scotland under Macbeths rule is reflected in the natural world. As king, Macbeth focuses on the wrong things, he tries to achieve strength and power and puts this vaulting ambition before his duty to lead Scotland.Macbeth could in no way be considered divine, a clear contrast to meek Duncan. The character of Macbeth is associated with evil and witch-craft and his is known to others as a tyrant whose sole name blisters our tongues, synonymous with power, although he has no legal or God-chosen right to have it. In Macbeth we see a king who deviates solely from all the king becoming graces and qualities of a good king, and as a result, his country suffers greatly, every aurora new wid ows howl, new orphans cry. In the play, we never actually meet Edward the Confessor, King of England, but through descriptions from Malcolm we can see clearly that he embodies all that a true, virtuous king should. He is associated with heaven and grace and all things saintly. Edward is said to possess the ability to foresee the future and to heal the sick, he does not crime these powers like Macbeth, but instead puts them to good use, he hath a heavenly gift of prophecy, and sundry blessings hang about his throne. We see in Edward a king who is a good judge of character, unlike Duncan.Edward welcomes Malcolm into his dally and agrees to help him despite many thoughts that Malcolm is the one who murdered Duncan. Edward can see Malcolm innocence and kindly offers him a safe haven where he can regroup. The qualities of kingship seen in Edward are that of beneficialy, kindness and holiness, all adhering to the fore-mentioned king becoming graces. This example of a most excellen t king would have impressed King James of England at the time as it was widely known that King James was a descendent of King Edwards.Malcolm, Duncans son and rightful heir to the throne, does not become king until the final scene of the play but still we are left feeling Scotland is in safe hands. Malcolm shows his qualities earlier in the play and from this we can see just what kind of king he is going to be. The anointing of Malcolm as king of Scotland restores natural order after the hellish reign of Macbeth. We feel as if Malcolm will be fair and honest as king and we know he understands what is expected of him, as he was in fact the character who listed the king becoming graces such as justice, verity, temperance We see he is a better judge of character than that of his late father as before trusting Macduff, he tests his loyalty to Scotland. He also understands how the power associated with being in king can easily go to ones head, no matter how honest they may seem previou s, a good virtuous nature may take a hop in an imperial charge. Before we learn of any of this, we know Malcolm resides in the palace of King Edward, this familiarity alone causes us to automatically characterise Malcolm with goodness and honesty.Malcolm is respected and liked by the people, this is show by the fact that he was able to bring together an army of ten thousand to fight against the tyrant Macbeth. With Malcolm as king, we see peace and unity once again being restored to Scotland, Hail king of Scotland. The only criticism I would have of Malcolm is the fact that he rewards directly, all those who have been loyal to him, my thanes and kinsmen, hensforth be Earls. This activeness reminds us of Duncans hasty reaction of appointing Macbeth as Thane of Cowdor. He rewarded immediately Macbeths seemed bravery but paid most dearly for it. I could not help but wonder if Malcolm may possibly suffer a similar fate. We see in all the kings mentioned in Macbeth, many differenc es. These differences allow us to contrast the characters and explore deeply the theme of kingship in the play. In Macbeth, we see an unnatural king which causes chaos in his country.He rules with terror and evil. Duncan was a king who rules with peace and honesty, but his trusting nature unluckily lead to his untimely death. In both Malcolm and Edward, we see good kings who appear to possess and understand the qualities call for to be king. Although it can be said that a fault may be seen in Malcolms character, this is no more than a suggestion, and I feel that his positive traits as King overwrite this. At the end of the play we are left feeling satisfied that has been left in safe hands.