Sunday, February 26, 2012

Why do the men discuss the King of England in "Macbeth"?Macbeth act4

It is important to note that Shakespeare has the men discuss this good King to parallel Malcolm and Duncan with this good King and at the same time contrast the evils of Macbeth.  In this scene, the purpose is to make the audience that much more certain that Macbeth is the evil character and that his country is diseased simply because he is on the throne.  They need the help of the good King of England who has allied himself with the good future King of Scotland.  Together, they can not fail against the epitome of evil embodied within Macbeth.

In addition, Shakespeare would be doing this to please the current King of England, James I, for whom the play was written.  Being the King of England, it is good to know that Kings of England are the good guys, and also that King James' ancestry is Scottish.  His ancestor, supposedly Banquo, was also the good guy in the story...killed by the evil Macbeth, but promised many Kings from his issue to sit on the throne. 

So, the good vs. evil theme is supreme here, but there is also some very successful ego stroking going on. 

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