Duncan's Leadership In Macbeth

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In the play written by William Shakespeare entitled Macbeth, one character in particular named Duncan is indeed an interesting fellow. He first appears in Act One, Scene Two, and praises Macbeth for defeating Macdownwald. There are many ways to describe him, as he seems to be a good but foolish person, a good king, and a poor judge of other people’s character. These characteristics are painfully obvious throughout the play until Duncan is murdered by Macbeth. Duncan plays an important role in the play, as he shows how power-hungry Macbeth is throughout the tragedy. Throughout the play, Duncan appears to be a good person. He is extremely generous, describing Macbeth as his “O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!” (Scene two, line 24). He also compliments the captain who reports the good news. In Scene Two, lines 43-44, he claims that “So well thy words become thee as thy wounds/The smack of honor both. Go get him surgeons.” Not only does his ability to fight in the battle make him honorable, his description of the battle also makes him noble. Duncan also shows that he is kind-hearted and demands the captain’s wounds to be attended to. As much of a good guy as he seems to be, he also seems that he is foolish in the sense that he puts too much trust into people. In Scene Two, lines 63-65, he confesses that he was betrayed by the Thane of Cawdor and demands him executed. This shows that it is easy to take advantage of Duncan if he trusts you. For this reason, Duncan is a very nice person yet foolish at the same time. Despite Duncan’s major flaw of over-trusting certain individuals, he was definitely a good king. If he wanted something done, is will to be a successful king drove him to accomplish the task. He strived for excellence throughout his appearance in the play, and he was able to put together a militia that squashed a rebellion. If Duncan was not the king of

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