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King Macbeth of Scotland is the titular protagonist turned main antagonist of William Shakespeare's Macbeth.


History[]

Early Life[]

The great Lord Macbeth was born somewhere around the eleventh century in Alba, Scotland to his father Sinel, the former Thane of Glamis, and an unnamed mother. Not much is said in the text about his early life.

When he reached adulthood, Macbeth worked errands in royal and military duties under King Duncan. Due to his skilled talent with a sword and his bloodlust in battles he quickly became a well-known soldier in the King's army, who had gained people's attention by his viscous and victorious way of fighting. As the king's soldier and first cousin, Macbeth was extremely devoted to the king and was considered an esteemed soldier for his noble acts of courage. Because of his loyalty to the country and the monarch, Macbeth was favoured by Duncan, because of this later earning him the title Thane of Cawdor.

Role in the Play[]

As the war ended with Macbeth and Banquo's slaughter of Macdonwald and capture of the old Thane of Cawdor in the battle near Forres, King Duncan honored Macbeth in high praise. The King sent a scottish nobleman named Ross to deliver the war hero his reward: the Thane of Cawdor's title since its previous holder was to be hanged for treason. Meanwhile, while on their way back to the royal camp in Forres, Macbeth and Banquo wandered onto a heath, where three witches appeared and greeted them with prophecies. They addressed Macbeth first, hailing him as the Thane of Glamis and Cawdor, and that he will become King afterwards, while Banquo was hailed as a father to a line of kings, though he himself would never be one. As the witches disappeared, Ross arrived and presented Macbeth his new title. It became apparent that Macbeth already begun to harbour ambitions of becoming a king, even after Duncan named his oldest son Malcolm III his heir. He stated that the kingship will fall into his lap by luck alone, and that he would not have to take any action to fulfill the witches' last prophecy: “If chance may have me king, why chance may crown me without my stir.” Macbeth became fixated on the prophecy, ignoring Banquo's advice that “oftentimes to win us to our harm these instruments of darkness tell us truths…to betray us in deepest consequence”.

Later that day, the King declared that he will spend a night at Macbeth's castle. Before returning home, Macbeth sent a letter ahead to his wife, telling her about the witches' prophecies. But Lady Macbeth suffered none of her husband's uncertainty and wanted him to kill Duncan in order to obtain his kingship (yet in medieval and Elizabethan eras, plans to commit regicide were punishable by death). Macbeth at first refused, but changed his mind when she accused him of cowardice and threatened his manhood. Giving into his ambition, the corrupted lord murdered King Duncan in his sleep that night, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural portents, including the hallucination of a bloody dagger. He then let Lady Macbeth take charge, and she framed Duncan's sleeping servants for the murder by placing the bloody daggers on them. The next morning, the loyal Thane of Fife, Macduff, and a scottish nobleman Lennox arrived at the castle, and were escorted by Macbeth himself to the King's chambers. There, Macduff discovered Duncan's body, and Macbeth murdered the chamber servants to stop them from professing their innocence, but claimed to have done so in a fit of anger over their misdeeds. Fearing whomever killed their father desired their demise as well, Malcolm and his younger brother Donalbain fled to England and Ireland, respectively, allowing themselves to become prime suspects in the process. Thus, their departure left Macbeth to be named the next King crowned at Scone, with his wife joining him as his queen.

As king, Macbeth secretly became tyrannical and greedy yet believed himself to be beyond redemption, brutally stamping out any real or perceived threats to his power. Although uneasy of the witches' prophecy to Banquo and in fear of his suspicions, he invited the latter to a royal banquet, but learned that Banquo and his son Fleance were going to ride out that night. Macbeth thus arranged to have them both murdered during their trip, and hired two of his soldiers to carry out the deed with a third later sent to assist. The assassins succeeded in their mission against Banquo, but Fleance escaped. This made Macbeth furious, for he believed that his power remained insecure as long as an heir of Lochaber lived. At the banquet, Macbeth invited his thanes and Lady Macbeth to a night of drinking and merriment until Banquo's ghost appeared and sat in his place. Macbeth raved fearfully, startling the guests, as the ghost was only visible to himself. They all panic at the sight of their king shouting at an empty chair, but a desperate Lady Macbeth assured them that her husband behaved like this often. The ghost left but appeared again, causing the same riotous paranoia in Macbeth. This time, his wife asked the guests to leave.

Macbeth meets his end when Macduff, the Thane of Fife, suspects his regicide and beheads him. This beheading mirrors that of Macbeth's war acts in Act I. Macduff, though only appearing in later acts, is a foil to Macbeth; dark and light, integrity and morals. He becomes the hero of the play, slaying the now-corrupt Macbeth.

Family[]

Sinel
 
 
Macbeth
 
Lady Macbeth
 

Victims[]

  1. Macdonwald - Sliced him from his nave to the chaps.
  2. King Duncan - Stabbed him multiple times.
  3. Duncan's Guards - Stabbed
  4. Banquo (by proxy) - Ordered his soldiers to kill him.
  5. Lady Macduff (by proxy) - Ordered his soldiers to kill her and her family.
  6. Macduff's Son (by proxy) - Ordered his soldiers to kill him.
  7. Members of Macduff's Castle (by proxy) - Ordered his soldiers to kill them.
  8. [[Young Siward]

References[]


Navigation[]

v - e - dMacbeth
Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | Banquo | Fleance | Duncan | Lady Macduff | Macduff | Macduff's Son | The Three Witches | Malcolm | Lennox | Donalbain | Macdonwald | Ross | Angus | Sweno | Thane of Cawdor | Sinel | Ross | Angus | Thane of Cawdor | Lennox | Donalbain | Ross | Angus | Donalbain | Lennox | Ross | Angus | Macbeth | Macbeth | Donalbain | Lennox | Ross | Lennox | Ross | Hecate | Edward | Siward | Hecate | Lennox | Ross | Menteith | Caithness | Angus | Lennox | Seyton
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