King Duncan and his Kingship
- The character of Duncan provokes different reactions across the audience: he is not merely a one-dimensional character.
- As a person, he seems to be kind and polite. Upon Macbeth's victory against the rebels, Duncan rewards him with a new title as Thane of Cawdor, and honours him with a royal visit to his castle. He compliments Lady Macbeth on her hosting and continually regards Macbeth as worthy, valiant, and many other generously positive adjectives. Despite his naivety, there is something to be said for such a trusting, good-natured king.
- Although his innocence and willingness to give away his trust could be in some ways endearing, King Duncan’s naivety is a major flaw in his personality. People he trusts fully turn out to be villains and deceive him, yet he does not learn from his repeated mistakes. Two of his trusted lords have rebelled against him and teamed up with rival countries, and Macbeth, his subject and a member of his own family, has killed him to steal his kingship.
- Despite his loving kindness, Duncan seems, at times, somewhat selfish and inconsiderate. When Macbeth defeated the rebels in Duncan's name, Duncan hastily rewarded him with the title Thane of Cawdor. However, shortly after this, he steals Macbeth’s limelight and announces that his son Malcolm is to become king. This was a strange, poorly-timed announcement which very much stole Macbeth’s moment.
- The other characters of the play all have different attitudes towards him. Our main characters - Banquo, Macduff, Lennox, Ross, Angus, and even Macbeth (whose actions are out of sick ambition rather than hatred) love him and believe him to be a good, fair and honest king. On the other hand, there is evidence of many rebellions against his kingship. This suggests that, perhaps, he isn’t as good a king as our characters believe. There are many people in the country that want rid of him.
- Comments from characters we have been introduced to all seem to suggest that Duncan is a good, kind and generous king. Even Lady Macbeth, who is sometimes viewed as the play’s fourth witch, is unable to kill him on account of how innocent he looks. Even straight after murdering him, Macbeth wishes that his kind king could come back, because the world seems a better place with him alive.
- Duncan, based on the comments of his subjects, seems to possess all of the royal and regal traits required to be both a good king, and a good person. It seems that his loyal friends and subjects have every reason to remain loyal to him.
- However, despite the positive comments from his friends and subjects, it seems that he was a less than perfect king. Scotland was falling apart under him: rebellions took place throughout the country, evil in the form of the witches roamed freely and other countries, such as Norway, were trying to take over Scotland. While the characters of the play paint images of a wise, all-knowing king, the setting describes a weak kingship, built upon poor decisions.
- Pathetic fallacy is frequently used in this play. Nature in this setting seems greatly disturbed. Thunder, lightning, wind and rain whip across the land, bringing with them a sense that something is not quite right.
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