Murder Of Duncan In Shakespeare's Macbeth

Macbeth the king killer and Duncan the innocent King or is that completely true? Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of his best play writes but how does it compare to the actual history of eleventh century Scotland? Although Shakespeare mentions historical locations such as Birnam Wood and Dunsinane Hill as well as historical figures such as King Macbeth and King Duncan does not mean The Tragedy of Macbeth is historically correct, in fact the tragedy is complete opposite to what actually happened.

In the beginning of the play Macbeth is a soldier in Duncan’s army, Macbeth is a honorable soldier and an excellent fighter. Macbeth is honored the title of Thane of Cawdor after Duncan hears word from a captain that he has slain a traitor and that the

After this when the battle is over Macbeth runs into the witches that give him his three prophecies “… Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! ... Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! ... All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Mac. 1.3.51-53) From here Macbeth writes his wife and explains the happenings of the witches, which leads Lady Macbeth to believe that Macbeth shall get what his is promised, this then leads the two to devise a plan to kill Duncan in his sleep. While this is a great play write it is not how Macbeth became king. In the play Duncan is an older king and is well defined in his ruling, but Duncan was actually a young man, probably younger than Macbeth. Macbeth does kill Duncan but not while he sleeps, he kills Duncan in battle near Elgin (a cathedral city in Moray Scotland) in 1040, he then claims the throne as King of Scots. He then remains in power for seventeen years and he rules well enough to keep the kingdom calm enough to go on pilgrimage in 1050 to Rome. While

Dunsinane is the westernmost of the Sidlaw Hills that sits at a peak of 308 meters high. Dunsinane is located in central Scotland. Birnam Woods is a great forest that sits at the foot of Dunsinane hill in the play, this is a real place in eleventh century Scotland. In the play the witches say “Macbeth Shall never vanquished un till Great Birnam Wood to High Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him.” (Mac. 4.1.105-107) these lines link the play to Dunsinane and Birnam Wood. While in the play and when Macbeth ruled Scotland Birnam Wood was a great forest full of trees and life the only trees left in the woods are the Birnam Oak and the Birnam Sycamore. These trees are both thought to date back to over 300 years’ old. The Birnam oak has supports on its branches and the first ten feet of the trunk are