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“There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”
--King Duncan (Macbeth: I, IV)
King Duncan exclaimed this awe-inspiring quote boldly in I, IV. The depth with which he presents his ideology gives immortality to these words, whose underlying parallelism to the plot has allowed it to play a key role as one of the most extensive themes presented in the text. The notion is explored that one cannot tell the true nature of a man merely by examining his face. Furthermore, one must take notice of the dramatic irony in Duncan's words as he speaks of the traitorous Cawdor, just as the new Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth, walks in to greet him. This is ironic, for Macbeth is only soon to become Duncan's most deceitful betrayer.
A ruler is defined as a leader amongst those who cannot lead themselves and must follow those that are ahead of them. A leader must make wise decisions, and perform objectives that are just. To lead without knowledge will corrupt and destroy the society and bring a metropolis to an extreme halt. Duncan portrays the foolish leader who causes the land onto which he rules to undergo continuous chaos and inner conflict, eventually leading up to his demise. An old proverb claimed that the apple does not fall far from the tree. Thus Malcom, the son of Duncan, said to have made the same mistake that his father has made. This leads to the destruction of the Great Chain of Being, meaning that the society that maintained order is now in disorder.
All the while, Malcom is seen to be the one to prove his father wrong. A time came in the play, when Macduff, a thane from Scotland, came in search for Malcom to take his rightful place amongst the throne. Malcom pushed Macduff to the limits when he invented a false alias not to proceed with the offer. When he witnessed that Macduff would not break in the quote “O, Scotland, Scotland”, he gave up knowing that Macduff can be trusted.
Shiller, a poet and writer, wrote...