1. The Three Monarchs in The Tragedy of Macbeth
In The Tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare considers the best type of monarch by
weighing how and who succeeds in the monarchy through a comparison of the characters of
Duncan, Malcolm, and Macbeth. Shakespeare crafts his tragedy to appeal not only to James I
and his court but also to the public of England. By carefully depicting the three types of
monarchs, Shakespeare does not offend the royal court while simultaneously making his play as
relevant as it is riveting for the seventeenth-century common audience. Shakespeare
promulgates James’ ideas of primogeniture and loyalty to the crown while he suggests to the
public what kind of individual makes a good ruler and under what circumstances a monarch can
be deposed. Duncan becomes the king on the extreme moral side of the spectrum, and Macbeth
becomes the evil tyrant. Shakespeare’s conclusion in his tragedy is that Malcolm, a combination
of the best traits of Duncan and Macbeth, is the best type of monarch.
To understand Shakespeare’s monarchal perspective in this tragedy, one must understand
a certain amount of history surrounding the succession of James I and the role of theater in this
society. Almost immediately after the new monarch arrives in England, James renews the
players’ contracts and makes Shakespeare “the official playwright to the prince” (Kernan xvi).
Shakespeare then writes in a manner that will politically please the reigning powers in order to
encourage royal patronage of the theatrical arts (Schmidgall 39). Shakespeare understands that
the royal court sees his works “not only as entertainments but as comments on the political and
social concerns of the moment” (Kernan xix). While playing to James’ political ideals,
Shakespeare has to keep in mind that his work must also appeal to “the public theatrical arena”
(Schmidgall 31). According to Rebecca Lemon in her essay “Scaffold of Treason in

2. ‘Macbeth,’” the tragedy was probably performed for the first time for James’ wife, Queen Anne,
and her brother, King Christian of Denmark, on August 7, 1606 (26). The Tragedy of Macbeth
perfectly suits the ideals of Anne’s and James’ newly formed royal court for two reasons. First
of all, the play is considered to be a celebration of discovering the Gunpowder Plot before
James’s assassination (26). Secondly, the play serves to pay homage to England’s king while
educating “audiences in the ideology of legitimate sovereignty” (27). Shakespeare appeals to
both the royal and the public audiences as he cleverly makes a statement about the best type of
ruling monarch according to the court while aiming at educating the general public of England.
Through examining the text of Macbeth, the ideals of James about the succession and the
attitudes of both the monarch and the public are most relevant and easily seen through the three
monarchs of Scotland in the play. James I, in his own published work, writes about his belief in
the succession of the throne to the first-born son, known as primogeniture, specifically to
his Stuart family lineage (Kernan xix). James furthers his faith in the Stuart-established
monarchy by implying that “obedience [is] due even to a bad king if he is the lineal heir to the
throne” (Campbell 286). Shakespeare writes two kings specifically to support James’ notions of
monarchy. Duncan represents the generous, paternal monarch, though he is somewhat naïve
about his citizens and their loyalty. Macbeth stands at the opposite end of the spectrum from
Duncan. Once Macbeth becomes king, most characters in the play describe him as being a
tyrant. With Duncan dead and the tyrant, Macbeth, on the throne, Scotland seeks to find a new,
different, stable king. Shakespeare draws Malcolm as being the middle ground between the good
and the evil kings that Scotland desires. James I and the general public cannot object to Malcolm
as the best monarch because this character contains the best of both Duncan and Macbeth.
Duncan represents the idealized monarch because he is generous and exercises his
2

3. authority to appoint positions of power in Scotland’s government. Duncan first hears of Banquo
and Macbeth’s courage in battle and their victory over Norway in the second scene of the first
act from both the Sergeant and from the Thane of Ross. Duncan’s reaction to the news is
twofold. He gives both men great praise for their gallantry and rewards Macbeth with the title
and income of the traitorous Thane of Cawdor (Shakespeare 1.2.65). Shortly thereafter, Duncan
uses his authority to “plant” (1.4.28) Macbeth and “establish our estate upon / our eldest,
Malcolm” (1.4.37-38). Gary Schmidgall sees these two acts of Duncan as reflecting the
responsibility of the writer to show his king as the creator of a “golden era” (76) as well as
guaranteeing a peaceful succession for the country (80). Shakespeare takes the opportunity to
place both appointments within a few short lines of each other. This pairing emphasizes the
authority of the king to reward his servants and the legitimacy placed on the Stuart family’s
claim to the throne. Shakespeare is promulgating the “Stuart Myth” that James traced back to
330 B.C. and King Fergus of Scotland (Kernan 77). James uses his family tree as his claim that
being a descendant of the first king of Scotland is proof that all monarchs should continue down
the appropriate bloodline, namely his own. Shakespeare’s Duncan reinforces this by passing the
title to his son, Malcolm. Duncan clearly plays into James’ principles of the very best of his own
monarchy.
Shakespeare highlights the positive aspects of a good monarch through Duncan but
does not refrain from mentioning some of Duncan’s weaknesses. First of all, Duncan is not a
warrior. He waits for news from the frontlines of the battle. In the second scene of the first act,
Shakespeare, very clearly, shows that this monarch does not wield a sword but depends on others
to fight for him. Duncan is not only impotent in battle but also in one important aspect of
diplomacy—he cannot read a man’s countenance. After hearing of the Thane of Cawdor’s
3

4. confession and execution, Duncan states, “There’s no art / To find the mind’s construction in the
face. / He was a gentleman on whom I built / An absolute trust (1.4.11-14). Moments later,
Duncan is conversing with Macbeth and agreeing to spend time at Macbeth’s estate and cannot
tell that the new Thane of Cawdor is also a traitor. In the previous scene, when Duncan
announces Malcolm as heir, Macbeth immediately leaps to the conclusion of murder (1.3.139-
140). Duncan orders the execution of the first Cawdor and immediately replaces him with
another traitor. Despite his competency concerning authority to reward and appoint men to
positions, Duncan falls short of being the perfect king. Shakespeare draws a fine line that does
not upset James’ sensibilities while illuminating the public audience at the same time.
After examining Duncan’s king, Macbeth’s character inhabits the other end of the
spectrum for rulers and for men. Macbeth is a valiant warrior. He defends Scotland from
Norway’s advances in the first act. In the fifth act, Macbeth fights to the bitter end of his life.
He says, “But bear-like I must fight the course” (5.7.2). Unlike Duncan, Macbeth places himself
in the fray of the battle with his men. However, in a negative fashion, Macbeth’s warrior also
murders innocent victims. Not only does Macbeth murder Duncan (2.2.15) but also orders the
murders of Banquo and his son, Fleance (3.1.130-137), as well as Macduff’s wife and children
(4.2.76-81). As a good ruler in defense of his people, Duncan sends men to battle an aggressive
country. Macbeth, on the other hand, murders out of ambition to gain power and to defend his
position, not as an act for the good of his subjects. Shakespeare’s contrast between the two
different monarchies of Duncan and Macbeth continue with an exploration of Duncan’s
sainthood versus Macbeth’s tyrannical rule. Macduff and Malcolm continually refer to Macbeth
as being a tyrant during the third scene of the fourth act. Malcolm says that Scotland “sinks
beneath the yoke, / It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash / Is added to her wounds” by
4

5. Macbeth’s hands (4.3.39-41). Continuing in the same scene, in contrast, Macduff refers to
Duncan as “a most sainted king” (109), and Malcolm calls his father an “innocent lamb” (16).
The comparison between Duncan and Macbeth strongly reinforces the good that comes to a
country that chooses kings from a particular bloodline. When Macbeth treasonously murdered
Duncan to assume the throne, the country of Scotland ultimately loses their paternal, innocent
king and their freedom during Macbeth’s tyranny. Shakespeare’s public audience enjoys the
dramatic differences between Duncan and Macbeth and understands the point the playwright is
making about the monarchy and their freedom.
Shakespeare does not arbitrarily include Malcolm, Duncan’s eldest son and appointed
successor, in the scene that lists in detail Macbeth’s crimes against the state. Shakespeare uses
this exchange between the two men in order to itemize Malcolm’s qualifications to be king of
Scotland. In the essay “Political Ideas in Macbeth IV. iii,” Lily Campbell points to this scene as
being where “Malcolm is recognized as being the rightful king of Scotland as ‘the truest issue of
thy throne’” (285). Campbell also explains that this scene is “obviously an intrusion directed
rather to flattering King James rather than to building the drama of Macbeth” (281).
Shakespeare certainly uses this scene to flatter King James with the promotion of James’ “claims
to absolute authority” (Kernan 5). However, Campbell’s position that the scene does not build
the drama is not encompassing the reaction of the audiences of the royal court and the public.
The royal court very much wants the “rightful king” to be convinced to take action against
Macbeth’s treason against the royal bloodline. In the public theater, the audience quickly grasps
the intricacies of the politics and the danger involved with the succession of the throne. By
making Malcolm the right heir, Shakespeare turns the action in a new direction in this scene.
Macbeth, previously the aggressor, becomes the pursued. Malcolm, who fled in fear after his
5

6. father’s death, becomes the aggressor. Shakespeare gives Malcolm the right to pursue Macbeth
by combining the best aspects of both Duncan and Macbeth. This third monarch gives both the
royal court and the public a likable, trustworthy man of action to associate with their own king.
Combining the third scene from the fourth act with other passages from the text balances
Malcolm’s character as being this honorable king.
First, Malcolm seeks to follow the request of Duncan from Act 1, Scene 5, after
Macduff’s pleas to overthrow Macbeth and be the proper bloodline successor to the throne.
Malcolm recognizes that he is “my poor country’s to command” and fulfills his responsibilities
concerning his family line and his country (4.3.131) Malcolm mirrors Duncan’s generosity by
frequently giving credit and thanks to those who deserve his recognition. He praises both the
sergeant and the Thane of Ross in the first act (1.2.5, 45). In the last act, he promotes his
“Thanes and kinsman” to “be Earls” (5.8.62-63) and then thanks all those who fought and served
him that day (5.8.74). In the conversation with Macduff, Malcolm calls Macduff a “Child of
integrity” (4.3.115). Clearly, Malcolm is the image of his father with the honest assessments of
and the gratitude to his subjects. Another way that Malcolm reflects Duncan is through his
defense of the crown by seeking justice against traitors. Duncan immediately demands the
execution of the first Thane of Cawdor in the first act. Similarly, Malcolm considers Macbeth’s
treason from a distance and then promises to avenge his father and his country (4.3.9-10).
As Shakespeare incorporates all of Duncan’s strong points as a ruler and bestows them
on Malcolm, the playwright also draws the strong characteristics of Macbeth to make Malcolm a
better ruler than Duncan. Malcolm early in the conversation with Macduff calls Duncan “a
weak, poor, innocent lamb” (4.3.16). An innocent lamb casts a positive light on Duncan’s
character and his monarchy, but Malcolm understands the weaknesses of Duncan’s trusting
6

7. character and frequently challenged rule as shown in the first act. Like Macbeth questions and
distrusts everyone after he gains power, Malcolm and his brother, Donalbain, immediately flee
the country after Duncan’s death. The brothers know that close family is most likely responsible
for the king’s murder and they will be next on the assassination list because they are likely
candidates for the throne (2.3.130-132). This distrust is the basis for a large portion of Act 4,
Scene 3. Malcolm uses the long, drawn out ruse of being a very evil person to evaluate
Macduff’s loyalty. Besides wise skepticism, Malcolm is a model of Macbeth’s warrior. In the
war with Norway, Malcolm is in the middle of the fighting and almost taken captive (1.2.5).
Following his war training, Malcolm calls for Macbeth’s head (4.3.45-46) and then marches back
to Scotland to get it in Act 5. Where Macbeth can kill out of ambition, Malcolm can fight for his
rightful throne and to preserve his country. Shakespeare perfectly balances Malcolm with the
strength and courage of a warrior while making him cunning following the recent treachery.
Malcolm, as Shakespeare’s perfect monarch, appeals to the political and social
audiences of the era. James is pleased with the endorsement of primogeniture, and the public is
satisfied with the excitement of the drama as well as the portrayal of a strong monarchy caring
for them. Shakespeare’s craft is genius in attracting both crowds without offending either.
Malcolm serves the artist, the Crown, and England very well for being a King of Scotland.
7

8. Works Cited
Campbell, Lily B. “Political Ideas in Macbeth IV. iii.” Shakespeare Quarterly 2.4 (1951):
281-286. Web. 29 November 2010.
Kernan, Alvin. Shakespeare, the King’s Playwright: Theater in the Stuart Court, 1603
1613. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1995. Print.
Lemon, Rebecca. “Scaffolds of Treason in ‘Macbeth.’” Theatre Journal 54.1 (2002):
25-43. Web. 29 November 2010.
Schmidgall, Gary. Shakespeare and the Courtly Aesthetic. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1981. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Annalisa Castaldo. Shreveport:
Louisiana State University, 2008. Print.
8