Duncan

• Duncan is also a foil to Macbeth, representing all the positive qualities of a king; whereas, Macbeth represents all the negative qualities.
• Duncan recognises and rewards loyalty; he is good and gracious.
• His honouring of Macbeth after the battle with the title Thane of Cawdor, as well as naming his son, Malcolm, as successor to the throne, seals Duncan’s fate.
• His continued trust in Macbeth causes him to place himself in mortal danger by honouring Macbeth with a kingly visit to his home.
• We do not see Duncan again after he is welcomed to Dunsinane by Lady Macbeth. His last gracious act is to send a diamond to Lady Macbeth, thanking her for her hospitality.
• He epitomises good kingship: he is honest, virtuous, and puts the country's needs before his own.
• Duncan's death symbolises the destruction of the political and social order - an order which cannot be restored until another king sits on the throne.
• The Scottish rule of succession was not dependant on primogeniture (being the first-born child).
• "He was a gentleman (Cawdor) on whom I built / An absolute trust"
• "I have begun to plant thee (Macbeth), and will labour / To make thee full of growing"
• "We will establish our estate upon / Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter, / The Prince of Cumberland"
• "There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face"
• "This Duncan / Hath borne his faculties so meek" (Macbeth)
• "Here lay Duncan / His silver skin laced with his golden blood / And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature" (Macbeth)