Kingship and the Divine Right of Kings

• • A Jacobean audience would've believed in the Divine Right of Kings
  • Macbeth committing regicide was therefore an act against God
  • A Christian audience would've understood regicide as a mortal sin
  • This meant dying without the grace of God and being condemned to hell
  • In the play, Duncan is always referred to as a 'king' but Macbeth is frequently called a tyrant
  • Kings were seen to bring harmony to their Kingdom - in line with God's plan but tyrants bring only chaos and disorder
• Shakespeare's intention

  • Shakespeare can be seen to be upholding these contemporary views about kingship
  • Shakespeare may also be suggesting that those unaccustomed and undeserving of power will be destroyed by it.
  • He is suggesting that kings are legitimate rules but tyrants aren't
• Macbeth

  A play about ambition and its consequences, and a warning against those who seek to undermine or overthrow the rule of a rightful king
• Macbeth as a tragedy

  • Must have a tragic hero as its protagonist
  • Tragic hero must have a tragic flaw, or hamartia
  • Hamartia of tragic heroes was often hubris: having overconfidence in your own ambitions
  • Tragic hero will be punished by the gods/God for their actions resulting from their hamartia, often leading to the protagonist's death
• Shakespeare punishes Macbeth for his ambition, but in a Christian context
• Macbeth abandons his morals in his pursuit of, and attempt to cling on to, power
• Macbeth is corrupted by his ambition, which leads him to commit regicide, the murder of his best friend, and the murder of women and children
• The vast majority of people in Jacobean England were Christian and believed in the literal word of the Bible
• Macbeth is condemned to death at the hands of Macduff, and to Hell for all eternity
• Supernatural events or characters would have been seen as the work of the devil, and evil
• Witches and witchcraft

  There was still a widespread belief in them in Jacobean England
• Lady Macbeth is also ambitious, and her punishment is suicide
• Witches were seen as agents of Satan, and many women were executed on suspicion of being witches
• Shakespeare's intention

  Presenting a morality play to his Jacobean audience: allow yourself to be morally corrupted and act against societal norms and you will suffer the consequences
• Jacobean audiences – and King James I himself – were fascinated by the presentation of witches on stage, but would know to distrust them
• The witches in Macbeth should be seen as untrustworthy and malevolent
• Divine Right of Kings

  Kings derived their authority from God, and therefore could not be challenged
• The first scene of Macbeth

  • Involves an ominous setting and three witches, foreshadowing future evil acts
• Macbeth committing regicide was an act against God
• The witches in Macbeth

  • They are capable of affecting the weather, creating spells and committing evil acts against ordinary people
• A Christian audience would have understood regicide as a mortal sin, leading to being condemned to Hell
• Macbeth trusts the witches


  Despite knowing better, due to his ambition
• Duncan is always referred to as a "king", but Macbeth once he ascends the throne is frequently called a tyrant
• Banquo does not trust the witches


  As he represents societal norms
• Kings were seen to bring harmony to their kingdom - in line with God's plan - but tyrants bring only chaos and disorder
• The witches in Macbeth

  • They are disruptive characters, a negative influence on Macbeth and mislead him with their prophecies
• The play ends with a legitimate ruler - Duncan's son and true heir, Malcolm - becoming king
• Examples of the supernatural aiding characters

  • Lady Macbeth calls on evil spirits to help her achieve her ambitions (Act I, Scene V)
  • Macbeth returns to the witches a second time in desperation (Act IV, Scene I)
• Shakespeare could be suggesting that the witches are just a symbol of the temptations all humans have to wrestle with
• Alternatively, the witches can be seen as agents of fate: they just encourage Macbeth to act upon his true nature
• Shakespeare's intention

  Upholding contemporary views about kingship, and suggesting that those unaccustomed and undeserving of power will be destroyed by it, and that kings are legitimate rulers, but tyrants are not
• Hallucinations

  Visions or things heard that are not real
• Hallucinations in Macbeth

  1. A bloody dagger

  2. Knocking

  3. A voice telling Macbeth he's murdered sleep

  4. Banquo's ghost

  5. Lady Macbeth seeing blood on her hands
• Hallucinations in Macbeth

  Representations of guilt
• Macbeth feels conflicted before murdering Duncan


  Sees a bloody dagger floating in front of him
• Knocking and voice telling Macbeth he's murdered sleep


  Represent the lack of peace the character will experience
• Lady Macbeth sees visions of blood on her hands


  Metaphor for her responsibility for Duncan's murder and her guilt
• It is not clear if Shakespeare intended the visions to be real or not, but they represent psychological realities for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
• Shakespeare presents guilt as inescapable; there is no escape from the consequences of evil acts
• Duplicitous

  Two-faced, or deceitful