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How Does Shakespeare Present The Theme Of Kingship In Macbeth

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In the play 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare, the theme of kingship is explored through the character of Macbeth who is driven by ambition to become king of Scotland. The theme of kingship holds significance in the play due to it being dedicated to King James I and it shows the downfall of going against the divine rights of kings to warn people against treason. In Act 1, Macbeth recognises that Duncan is a good king,'his virtues will plead like angels', perhaps it's Shakespeare's intent to present Duncan this way to support the view of the divine right of kings, which basically meant that God annointed each king which makes Duncan seem more virtuous and makes his murder more horrifying to the audience. in Act 2, the theme of kingship is further …show more content…

This further reveals to the audience that Macbeth is not the right ruler for Scotland. The idea of a king murdering someone completely goes against the holiness of kings being chosen by God. Shakespeare creates this image to describe how the natural order of things has been disrupted. In Act 4, the theme of kingship continues to be explored when Macbeth goes back to the witched to recieve the 3 apparitions. this gives the audience an evil impression of macbeth. This further emphasises how it's not natural for him to be king. Moreover, Macbeth gets Macduffs family killed. the murderer describes Macduffs son as an 'egg'. This emphasises how young he is and which makes the murder even more shocking and confirms to the audience that Macbeth was not chosen by God to be king and he is an imposter. In Act 5, the theme of kingship is further developed as Macbeths tyranny and oppression eventually lead to his downfall. Through this, Shakespeare is indirectly telling the audience that by committing regicide you are ultimately going against God and that will lead to an unfortunate ending. Kingship is further developed at the end of the play when Malcom becomes king. After this, Shakespeare shows how since the king was guided by God, the natural order of things are back to

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