Theme - Kingship

Question 1

Main ways the theme of kingship is shown in the play

Answer 1

• Attitudes towards Duncan
• Reaction to Duncan’s death
• Attitudes towards Macbeth

Question 2

Quote + analysis for the theme of kingship in Act 1 - said by Macbeth (3)

Answer 2

• “Who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself” - technique of anecdote
• This quote shows how the king must be protected - Macbeth is contemplating killing the King which in the Jacobean era is seen as regicide
• Context - Jacobean era firmly believed in the divine right of kings so king were chosen by God and ruled under God’s command

Question 3

Quote + analysis for the theme of kingship in Act 1 - said about Duncan (4)

Answer 3

• “he hath bourne his facultre so meen”
• Duncan is presented as this just and fair king - technique of pathetic fallacy
• Shakespeare builds up Duncan to emphasise how wrong it would be to kill a king hat he is
• In Jacobean era killing the king was seen as a crime against God

Question 4

Quote + analysis for the theme of kingship in Act 2 (3)

Answer 4

• “Most sacrilegious murder hath broke”
• Technique of superlative “most” emphasises how bad Duncan’s death is
• In Jacobean era this was seen as the worst type of murder - leaving the audience shocked as regicide was the mist unimaginable event that could occur

Question 5

Quote + analysis for the theme of kingship in Act 2 - God’s reaction (3)

Answer 5

• “Thou seest the heavens as troubled with mans act” - suggests Macbeth killing Duncan has angered God
• Personification of the heavens being troubled implies angels are also angry
• Direct link to regicide and how its wrong

Question 6

Quote + analysis for the theme of kingship in Act 3 - Lennox (3)

Answer 6

• “He hath borne all things well” Lennox implies that he thinks Macbeth has killed everyone
• Technique of irony as lennox seems to in a way praises how Macbeth has caused so much trouble and gotten away with it
• Macbeth and Duncan complete contrast of Kings

Question 7

Quote + analysis for the theme of kingship in Act 4 (3)

Answer 7

“Whither should I fly? I have done no harm”
• Macbeth has now turned into a brutal dictator
• the adverb “whither” implies how much he has become blind to all the bad things he has done

Question 8

Quote + analysis for the theme of kingship in Act 5 - Macbeth (2)

Answer 8

• “Bring thou this fiend of Scotland”

* the noun “fiend” suggests that Macbeth is seen as an evil spirit or demon

Question 9

Quote + analysis for the theme of kingship in Act 5 - Scotland (4)

Answer 9

“It weeps, it bleeds and each new day a gash is added to her wounds”
• Metaphor showing how each day of Macbeth’s reign Scotland continues to suffer
• Graphic imagery
• Semantic field of pain