3.12 - Kingship Quotes
Quote overview table
| Quote | Speaker | Act and scene | Theme(s) | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "He was a gentleman on whom I built / An absolute trust" | Duncan | Act 1, Scene 4 | Kingship, Appearance versus reality | His misplaced trust makes a benevolent king vulnerable to betrayal |
| "He's here in double trust" | Macbeth | Act 1, Scene 7 | Kingship, Guilt and conscience | Macbeth recognises the obligations he will betray by murdering Duncan |
| "Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope / The Lord's anointed temple" | Macduff | Act 2, Scene 3 | Kingship | The king's murder is presented as an offence against God |
| "A falcon, tow'ring in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed" | Old Man | Act 2, Scene 4 | Kingship, Supernatural | The reversal of natural hierarchy parallels a subject killing his king |
| "The king-becoming graces" | Malcolm | Act 4, Scene 3 | Kingship | Good government requires virtues that Macbeth's tyranny violates |
| "Those he commands move only in command, / Nothing in love" | Angus | Act 5, Scene 2 | Kingship, Corruption of power | Possessing royal authority does not guarantee willing loyalty |
| "Hail, King of Scotland!" | Macduff, echoed by all | Act 5, Scene 8 | Kingship | Malcolm's supporters publicly recognise Duncan's heir as king |
Quotes 1 and 2
“There's no art / To find the mind's construction in the face. / He was a gentleman on whom I built / An absolute trust.”
Duncan, Act 1, Scene 4
“He's here in double trust: / First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, / Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, / Who should against his murderer shut the door, / Not bear the knife myself.”
Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7
Context
Duncan has heard how the former Thane of Cawdor died after betraying him. Macbeth, already awarded Cawdor's title, enters after this admission. Later, with Duncan visiting his castle, Macbeth debates whether to murder him.
Duncan cannot detect disloyalty
"absolute" makes the trust complete, revealing how badly Cawdor deceived Duncan. The metaphor "built" suggests the reliance Duncan placed on that relationship. His preceding statement means that a person's face cannot reliably reveal their thoughts.
Macbeth's entrance creates dramatic irony because the audience knows he has imagined murder. Duncan welcomes another man whose loyalty will fail him. Shakespeare shows the danger of trusting a reputation without recognising concealed intentions.
Macbeth knows what he owes Duncan
"double trust" groups his obligations into two kinds: kinship and allegiance on one side, hospitality on the other. As Duncan's relative and subject, Macbeth owes loyalty; as his host, he owes protection.
The contrast between shutting out a murderer and carrying the knife himself exposes the betrayal of that duty. Because Shakespeare lets us hear Macbeth identify these obligations, his later action is knowingly chosen. He understands the claims of rightful kingship before violating them.
Quotes 3 and 4
“Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope / The Lord's anointed temple and stole thence / The life o' th' building.”
Macduff, Act 2, Scene 3
“A falcon, tow'ring in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed.”
Old Man, Act 2, Scene 4
Context
Macduff discovers Duncan's body and announces the murder. In the following scene, Ross and an Old Man describe disturbances in nature and compare them with the killing.
Murder as sacrilege
The metaphor makes Duncan's body a holy building and his life something sacred stolen from it. "sacrilegious" means violating what belongs to God. "anointed" recalls the holy oil used in coronation, connecting Duncan with the belief that royal authority comes from God.
This context explains why Macduff's horror extends beyond grief for one man. Killing the king attacks an authority understood as sacred, making Macbeth's pursuit of power both a political and a religious transgression.
A reversal of hierarchy
The falcon is soaring at the height of its flight, while the owl normally hunts mice. The unexpectedly reversed relationship parallels Macbeth's attack on the ruler he should serve. The Old Man calls the event unnatural and compares it explicitly with Duncan's murder.
Shakespeare extends this pattern through daytime darkness and Duncan's horses eating one another. The horses' behaviour is reported, with Ross claiming to have seen it. These accounts make broken order a feature of the world around the murder, beyond the secrecy of Duncan's chamber.
Quote 5 (Act 4, Scene 3)
“The king-becoming graces, / As justice, verity, temp'rance, stableness, / Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, / Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude”
Malcolm, Act 4, Scene 3
Context
In England, Malcolm tests Macduff by claiming he would be a corrupt king. Macduff initially excuses his supposed lust and greed. Malcolm then claims to lack all the virtues in this list, prompting Macduff to reject him as unfit to govern.
Analysis
"king-becoming" means appropriate to a king. Verity means truthfulness, temperance self-control, bounty generosity, and lowliness humility. The extended list makes good government depend on a range of qualities, rather than military strength alone. Courage appears alongside patience and mercy, which require a ruler to restrain the use of power.
These virtues provide criteria for judging Macbeth: his deception violates truthfulness, his attacks on innocent families violate mercy, and his killings undermine justice. The contrast develops through actions elsewhere in the play, not simply through the characters' titles.
Macduff's rejection shows that even Duncan's heir must deserve support. Malcolm reveals that his self-accusations were false once Macduff demonstrates concern for Scotland. The test establishes a political alliance and shows Malcolm exercising the caution Duncan lacked.
Quotes 6 and 7
“Those he commands move only in command, / Nothing in love.”
Angus, Act 5, Scene 2
“Hail, King of Scotland!”
Macduff, echoed by all, Act 5, Scene 8
Context
Angus speaks as Scottish nobles gather to support Malcolm against Macbeth. The final acclamation follows Macduff's arrival with Macbeth's severed head.
Analysis
Repeating "command" makes orders the basis of Macbeth's remaining authority, while "Nothing in love" denies willing attachment to him. Angus judges a king whose control survives after his claim to loyalty has failed. His followers' defections give practical consequences to that failure.
At the ending, Macduff's greeting is repeated by the assembled company. The shared acclamation presents public support for Malcolm, contrasting with Macbeth's reliance on compulsion. Malcolm then rewards service by making his thanes earls and promises to bring home those who fled tyranny.
His promise to act "in measure, time, and place" suggests an orderly response to the country's needs, contrasting with Macbeth's resolve to act before thinking. These words offer a prospect of responsible rule. The coronation and the work of government still lie ahead when the play ends.