Macbeth- Shakespeare's views on kingship
Shakespeare's ideas towards kingship can be seen throughout the play. He shows that a king should be chosen by divine right and shows the attributes of what a good king should be.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 overthro! w the leadership of Macbeth, and so the Anglo-Scottish revolt sees Macbeth
acduff argues with Malcolm, he appeals that his father 'was a most sainted king' (act4 sc3 L109). Malcolm also says, 'angels are bright still, though the brightest fell.' This means that there still are good kings to come although the best has gone. Therefore the view of Duncan is consistent throughout the play (unlike views of the Macbeths) -all attest to his worth and merits. the prophecy of the witches, he ordered his death in case he thought that he might have killed Duncan, act3 sc1 Line start - 10 Banquo says he has all three as the witches predicted. Under his reign of tyranny, he kills and slaughters. A dominant feature about the play is that when there is a bad king, the country as well suffers, and many characters talk of how Scotland is suffering act4 sc3 L168-169 'Where sighs, and groans, and shrieks that rent the air, are made, not marked'. Act4 sc3 L40-41 Malcolm says, 'it weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds.' In the same scene Macduff also says, 'bleed, bleed poor country.' Also, 'Each new morn, new widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows strike heaven on the face, that it resounds as if it felt with Scotland, and yelled out like a syllable of dolour.' People don't talk highly of Macbeth unlike Duncan, words like 'black' and 'treacherous' and also 'tyrant' are to name but a few. Macduff comments, 'not in! 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. 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 fi
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1566
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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