This quote is taken from Act I, Scene IV, and it is spoken by King Duncan. To put it into context, Duncan and his men are discussing the former Thane of Cawdor, a man who committed treason against the king through his rebellion.
In the first two of these lines, Duncan notes how he trusted the Thane of Cawdor completely. He looked upon him as a "gentleman," for instance, and built this trust in him over a period of time. This is frustrating for Duncan because, as he says in the previous two lines, he could not read this man's mind just by looking at his face. In other words, while Cawdor pretended to be faithful, Duncan had no idea about his inner treacherous thoughts. He was completely defenseless against them.
Duncan then turns to Macbeth and addresses him as his "worthiest cousin." Duncan is expressing his gratitude to Macbeth for fighting against Cawdor and demonstrating his trust and fondness.
Rather ironically, Duncan has no idea that Macbeth is also having treacherous thoughts. Specifically, he is thinking about removing Duncan so that he can rule instead. Just like Cawdor, Macbeth looks like a "gentleman," but he is about to deceive Duncan.
No comments:
Post a Comment