The play 'Macbeth' is set in medieval Scotland at the fictional time of King Duncan. Scotland is currently at war with the Norwegians when news of their victory comes through, with thanks to the two leaders of the army Macbeth and Banquo. On their travel home Macbeth and Banquo stumble upon some old hags, and they predict Macbeth's future to him. This startles Macbeth and his hunger for power grows so much that he and his wife plot to murder the well-respected King Duncan. Under Macbeth's reign, Scotland becomes a country of turmoil because of the wicked leadership. Macbeth murders his best friend and another friend's family and because of this Tyranny, paranoia sets in on Macbeth who sees many ghostly visions of people he sent out to be murdered. Scotland greatly suffers under his reign, this turns Lady Macbeth mad, and she eventually commits suicide. Macduff, eventually goes to England to ask for the help of the noble king Edward, who is highly respected for help to overthrow the leadership of Macbeth, and so the Anglo-Scottish revolt sees Macbeth t

Malcolm is the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland by divine right. He appears to be a worthy king as we get to see his character mostly in act4 sc3 where he has a long conversation with Macduff. Malcolm can see that the country is in turmoil and he rightfully blames 'black Macbeth' as he puts it. Also unlike Macbeth, we can see that Malcolm doesn't act without thinking, as he tries to win some confidence out of Macduff saying that he himself mightn't be fit enough to one day be king. Malcolm talks of his own faults in act4 sc3 saying that he can't get adultery off his mind, he calls himself 'voluptuous' and with his carnal attitude also says, 'your wives, your daughters, your matrons and your maids, could not fill up the cistern of my lust.' He also says to win encouragement from Macduff that 'black Macbeth will seem as pure as snow' meaning that Macbeth will be a better king than he will. It is obvious to see that Malcolm will be a good king because he lists words that a good king must have. This also implies Shakespeare's ideas to what qualities a good king should have

King Edward of England is the king least of all mentioned in the play, but still we can tell a lot about his character and what type of king he was. We can see that Edward was a good, loyal king, who wasn't prepared to see others suffer. In act4 sc3 L141-145, a doctor comments on how some ill people touched Edward's hand and were healed, Malcolm then after comments it is 'a most miraculous work in this good king.' Also, we can see that he is a good and caring king as he chooses to help Malcolm and Macduff in their Anglo-Scottish revolt.

At the end of the play Shakespeare includes Malcolms last words of the play to be similar to Duncans speech when he was king, this proves that Malcolm becomes a good king, following in his footsteps and restoring Scotland to its former glory.

Macbeth is the main character in the play and starts the play as a very hard fighting, loyal soldier whose bravery had just led the way to a victory over the Norwegians. It could be an essay in its own right to talk about how the character of Macbeth develops and changes, at the beginning he is a god-like hero -a firm, strong, loyal character. But through allowing his ambition to suppress his good qualities, he becomes 'this tyrant' (act4 sc3 L12 -Malcolm),

Some common words found in the essay are:
Macbeth Malcolm, L108 Ambition, Scotland Macbeth, L40-41 Malcolm, Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare Duncan, Macduff Anglo-Scottish, L109 Malcolm, L57-60 Malcolm, Edward England, act4 sc3, throughout play, king duncan, lady macbeth, shakespeare's ideas, king edward, 'my liege' 'great, malcolm king, act3 sc1, liege' 'great, 'my liege', king chosen divine, ideas towards kingship, liege' 'great king', shakespeare's ideas towards,
Approximate Word count = 1565
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)