Context:
Shakespeare's kings fall into a pattern. There are those who are tired of the responsibility kingship brings. They may try to give the kingdom away, like King Lear, or lose control, like Richard II or Henry VI, because their personalities are gentler and less appropriate to a war-like time. Those who show strength and leadership, like Henry V, are also generous and forgiving when appropriate. Macbeth, however, shows the kind of strength that comes not from natural confidence but from desperate anxiety which quickly turns to tyranny. |
