Duncan appraises Macbeth by holding Lady Macbeth by the hand and saying “We love him highly and shall continue our graces toward him” (I,iv,364, 29-30) believing that Macbeth is a loyal man that has such a great heart; considering that he risked his life to save Scotland: something that the Thane of Cawdor was supposed to do. Macbeth, a dark evil soul, uses the promotion and honor of Duncan as a stepping stone to begin his destroying of Scotland. Instead of being happy with the honor that king Duncan gave him the honor of Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth gets greedy and wants more than what is granted to him, “If chance will have
The King of Scotland says, “What be hath lost, noble Macbeth hat won” (1.2. 67). Through this quote it shows that the king holds Macbeth in high regard and trusts him. The King of Scotland is Duncan, Macbeth’s best friend, who he later betrays. During the beginning of the play Macbeth is very loyal to Duncan and would do anything he asked of him.
He is lead by ambition into situations and finds himself with no way out; this is what kills Macbeth. In order to consider the changing relationship between Lady Macbeth and her husband we must first analyse what each individual is like when they are not influenced by the presence of the other. To effectivley explore the impact that they have on each other we must first analyse their personalities and actions when they are not together. Our first impression of Macbeth is given by the ‘Sergeant’. We are able to see from this text that Macbeth is a man who is extremely brave, courageous, valiant, and is also seen in a good light by the people who are around him: “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name” Because this quotation does not come from either Macbeth or his wife, we are able to conclude that Macbeth is seen in a good light by others.
Shakespeare portrays Brutus as a noble and honourable man, who is much loved by the people and senate. Brutus does not join the conspirators for personal reasons but rather for the benefit of Rome as he says “I know …question” (act,2,sc1.11:13) proves he fears for Caesar might become when in complete power. Which is further emphasised by “That lowliness is young ambitious ladder” (act,2,sc1.322) so Brutus is afraid for his countrymen. Brutus’ nobility and honour are further stamped by Ligarius who refers to Brutus as “Brave son, deriv’d from honourable loins” (act,2,sc,1.322) which shows what high position and regards people hold of the noble Brutus. Before Act3 Scene 2 Mark Anthony seems like a bit of a coward and Caesar’s puppet, he lacks confidence as he seems to always agree with Caesar and gives the impression that he doesn’t take life seriously, loves partying and envoy’s the company of women.
There are four main examples of Kingship in Macbeth. Firstly there is Duncan, who became king by divine right and is full of the king becoming graces which were sought by his son in Act 4. Duncan is a loyal, humble, and generous and just but is not without impurities. He has an over trusting nature which leads him to fail to see the corruption in Macbeth and his evil deeds “Gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust”. Duncan is primarily a force of goodness in the play even considering his certain flaws.
Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth that killing Duncan would be of great interest to him as it will give him great prosperity. Lady Macbeth is supposed to represent Shakespeare's employer, King James' opinion on all woman, that they persuade men to sin. At the time Macbeth was written, people did not have a very high view on woman as they were seen as inferior to men and only there for the purpose of reproducing and caring of the offspring whilst the men do the important things such as earn money. Modern audiences would not see Lady Macbeth's attitude towards her husband as a shock as men and woman are more or less equal in today's society, however in Elizabethan England her attitude towards her husband would have been seen as shocking. In Animal Farm, Squealer is used by Napoleon to clear
Macbeth is portrayed as a "good being" because he fought for his country and for his king. Shakespeare also describes Macbeth in such quotes as "for brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name" (pg. 38, line 16), and "What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won."(pg. 40 line 67). However As the play progresses, Macbeth's personality and actions become more deceitful leading to his destruction.
He just threw himself in the bloodiest middle of the fray, and hacked his way out. Just as he had admirable strengths of character, so did he have unpraiseworthy weaknesses. His biggest weaknesses were his ambition and his manipulability. Because he was such a good worker, he couldn't help but hope for recognition and reward for the consistently superior quality of his work. It may have been that he was serving a sovereign, King Duncan I [d. August 14, 1040], who wasn't known for appreciation or generosity.
The Macbeth we first encounter is an important and valued member of his society and the favorite of his king. His bravery and loyalty are celebrated and, though fierce in battle, we are led to believe that his is a fundamentally good and virtuous nature. By the plays end, however, he has 'supped full of horrors' and is regarded as a 'hell-hound' by his peers. In my opinion, key to this tragic downfall is Macbeth's relationship with his wife, Lady Macbeth, and the influence they exert upon each other. Within this relationship there is rarely true equality - one partner almost always has undue power or influence over the other.
Even before the point of Duncan’s downfall, we see that Duncan is a good man but an incompetent king. Duncan is a kind man because he openly and graciously greets his nobles with praise. However, he is a poor leader because he did not fight along with his soldiers. Some might say that this is justified because Duncan is an old man, others may see this as a reason why Duncan should not serve a period of time as King. He is too trusting in his nobles which costs Duncan his life and country.