Macbeth Power Quotes Page 1

The witches prediction that Macbeth will become monarch and that Banquo's heirs will be future kings sets the plot in motion. Up until this point, Macbeth doesn't seem to have kingly aspirations. In fact, he's just returning home from successfully defending King Duncan against Scottish traitors and the Norwegian King's armed forces.

This moment also lays the groundwork for Shakespeare's portrayal of the Stuart political myth. King James I of England (a.k.a. King James VI of Scotland) was the current monarch when Shakespeare wrote Macbeth (around 1606) and he traced his lineage back to Banquo, the man who "shalt get kings." We'll definitely want to keep an eye on how Shakespeare portrays James's supposed ancestor.

The first time Macbeth's thoughts turn to murdering King Duncan (in order to fulfill the witches' prophesy), he's terrified by his own "horrible imaginings." Murder in itself is enough to "shake" Macbeth but the idea of murdering a king (regicide) is particularly awful.

History Snack: Regicide was a pretty common occurrence in 11th century Scotland (the setting of Macbeth) but the idea of murdering a king would have been particularly startling for Shakespeare's 17th century audience. King James was a big fan of a theory called the "Divine Right of Kings," which said that monarchs were God's appointed representatives on earth and that rebelling against the monarch was an affront to God. James even wrote about it in The Trew Law of Free Monarchies (1598), where he claimed that "The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth; for kings are not only God's lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself are called gods."

When King Duncan names his son, Malcolm, the Prince of Cumberland, he's essentially naming him the heir apparent to the throne. (Note: At the time, Scotland was not a hereditary monarchy – it was elective so Duncan's technically out of line here.) At this point, Macbeth decides that Malcolm and King Duncan are a serious obstacle in his path to the throne – "The Prince of Cumberland! that is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, / For in my way it lies" (1.4.4).