Kingship in Macbeth

By whyetatt foong, Student

the representation of kingship in Macbeth thorugh the construction of Macbeth and Duncan

An essay hosted at LiteratureClassics.com

2. How is kingship presented in the play?

Macbeth by William Shakespeare presents contrasting views on the notion of kingship though the major characters of King Duncan and Macbeth. Although Macbeth has good intentions and aims to be like Duncan, he falls short of his target, becoming ruthless and cold-hearted. The two views work hand in hand to provide the audience with ideas of what a king should and shouldn’t be, due to their juxtaposed characters. A belief at the time was the divine right of kings, where the king, chosen by god was not questionable by the public. It was further believed that there was a world pecking order as organised by god and to assassinate the king was to interrupt the natural order and go against god, a major theme in the play.

King Duncan embodies the worthwhile and necessary qualities required for kingship, representing the ideals of a great king. His influence pervades the play and provides a standard for what a king should be. Duncan is depicted as generous, king, honest, trusting, but most importantly honourable and caring. His caring qualities are brought forward when he states “I have begun to plant thee, and will labor to make thee full of growing”(I.4.28-9). Clearly he nurtures his subjects with loving care and wants his kingdom and its inhabitants to fulfil their potential. Duncan respects honour and refers to the honourable as “oh worthiest cousin”, demonstrating his inviting, friendly and rewarding nature. King Duncan frames the play by providing a reference onto which Macbeth can be compared, and the ideas of kingship presented.

The idea of good kingship is associated with the idea of an open, sincere and honourable reputation, as seen in Duncan. He leads his life by “honourable” principles, a way of living which he deems as “worthy”. He also acknowledges soldiers possessing loyalty and integrity, “they smack of honour both” (I.2.44) when ordering the execution of Cawdor, Duncan is horrified at the thanes treachery, an attribute that opposes the values which Duncan upholds. In saying, “there is no art/ to find the mind’s construction in the face:/ he was a man on whom I built/ an absolute trust”, Duncan reveals his trusting nature. This trust proves to be his ultimate flaw in an otherwise perfect character, since he does not take enough advantage of his power put the necessary safe guards in place to protect himself. By keeping to the notions of kingship, even till his murder, Duncan is established as the perfect king.

The ideals of kingship, as seen in Duncan, are supported by all those around him. Macbeth clearly admires Duncan for his “saintly” qualities. When he contemplates the murder he feels he cannot do it because “his virtues will plead like angels trumpet tongued” (I.7.18-9). This admiration for Duncan carries through after his murder where Macbeth refers to the late king as “gracious”. Macduff also talks of the king’s great qualities, when he refers to him as “a most sainted king” (IV.3.109). The greatness of Duncan’s kingship is made more poignant through references by other characters.

The values of kingship held by Macbeth are shown to be contradictory to those of Duncan, by the Inversion of the natural order. Following the murder of Duncan we see “unnatural” acts occur “even like the deed that’s done” (II.4.11). Ross also “seest the heavens, as troubled with man’s act” (II.4.6), suggesting that even the heavens are worried about the inevitable kingship by Macbeth. At this point in the play, it has been realised that Macbeth cannot fulfil the place of his predecessor, highlighted through clothing imagery, “lest our old robes sit easier than our new” (II.4.58). By reversing the natural order though Duncan’s murder, Macbeth is established as an unacceptable substitute for king.

By becoming increasingly associated with the forces of darkness, Macbeth presents a notion of kingship contradictory to enlightenment and wisdom. His ruling causes “good things to begin to droop and drowse” (III.2.53) while “things bad begun to make themselves strong by ill” (III.2.55). The “poor country” (IV.3.164) is also filled by “sighs and groans and shrieks that rent the air” (IV.3.168). Macbeth lacks the attributes to stop the plague of evil that followed his kingship, even asking for a doctor to “cast/ the water of my land, find her disease” (V.3.50-1). This link with evil is also responsible for him losing all respect from his people, demonstrated through further use of clothing imagery, "now does he feel his title/hang loose about him like a giants robe/ upon a dwarfish thief" (V.2.20-1). The involvement of Macbeth with darkness and the low lives of society would not usually be connected good kingship, thus founding Macbeth as an irresponsible and disreputable king.

Macbeth realises that he cannot command respect the way Duncan did, causing his final moments of kingship to be insecure and uncertain. He finds that he has lost both loyalty and love when he states, “my way of life/ is fallen into the sear” (V.3.23-4). Macbeth is really “sick at heart” (V.3.19) and has to attain “security” through “foul” means. Continual murders cause him to lose his conscience, and to be labelled the “tyrant bloody-sceptred” (IV.3.164). He further chooses to murder his friend Banquo, when learning his decendants will become king and not Macbeth’s own, “for Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind;/ for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered” (III.1.65-6). After these murders however he concludes that he is “in blood/ stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,/ returning were as tedious as go o’er” (II.5.137-9). It is because of insecurity, “mortals’ chiefest enemy” (III.5.33) that Macbeth becomes a “bloody butcher, contradictory to the normal nature of a respectable king.

In the Play Macbeth, Shakespeare develops the idea of kingship. King Duncan presents indisputably positive character traits including honour, trust and care, which are identified as the proper aspects needed from kingship. Macbeth, however, proves to a destructive character, who lacks the qualities owned by Duncan, and murders due to insecurity, demonstrating to the reader what is not asked for in a king.