What does it mean to deserve to be King? In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, a man named Macbeth kills the king, Duncan, for his own ambition, but allows Duncan’s sons to escape. In the aftermath of Duncan’s death, Macbeth becomes king and murders everyone who dares oppose him. This leads Malcolm, legitimate heir to the crown, to go against Macbeth and ends up claiming his rightful place in Scotland. The function of Duncan and his sons (Malcolm and Donalbain) is to be the good that opposes and contrasts with Macbeth and his evil. First, Duncan and his sons represent the holy trinity of the bible. Just like in the holy trinity, neither is the other, but each can be a king. In the play, a king was like a messenger of God, someone blessed by …show more content…
What led Macbeth to kill Duncan was his ambition, but that ambition became greed when Macbeth wanted to increasingly kill more people so he could obtain and keep what he had. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, and the cause of Macbeth’s fall. On the other hand, Duncan and his sons, exhibit the trait that completely contrasts with Greed, one of the seven virtues, charity. Duncan shows charity through his kindness in Macbeth Act 1 where he gives Macbeth a new title, send surgeons to the captain, and normally treats his people with great care. Malcolm explicitly shows it when he says in Macbeth 4.3 Line #131-132 where he tells Macduff that he is for the people of Scotland to command, and Donalbain shows it when he decides to not get involved, and forget about any personal gain, or feelings of revenge, but rather move on, and let his brother take everything for the sake of peace. Duncan and his sons show the other part of the theme that not greed (charity) does not lead to the downfall of people. I use downfall, not in the term of death, but rather of falling from the grace of God, which was Macbeth’s greatest