e, mercy, lowliness, devotion, patience, courage, fortitude…” (pg. 74)A benevolent leader is one who comes from divine right. He would be truthful, generous, and humble in his actions. His motives would stem from honor and a desire for the greatest good.Macbeth –Holinshed:In Holinshed’s accounts, Macbeth is portrayed as an ambitious captain; however, he reins for nearly 10 years as a benevolent monarch/leader. He acts for the common good and leads the people in his service through good times. Even in the act of killing Duncan, Holinshed has Macbeth staying somewhat distant by having his “trustie friends” the chief of which is Banquho, do the actual murder of Duncan and carry away his body form his own castle. When Macbeth is seen as a tyrant, Holinshed shows Duncan and Banquho as benevolent to emphasize just how “bad” Macbeth had actually become. Macbeth does not kill Banquho or Duncan out of some revengeful or wounded reasons; he kills them out of mere greed and ambition. He is planful of their assassinations.Macbeth-Shakespeare:In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth is shown as nothing but evil. His tyrannical state is elaborated on by Shakespeare by the fact that he personally kills Duncan with his own hands. Furthermore, he has no reason to kill Duncan. It has already been shown that the revelations of the three witches will come true, but Macbeth interferes anyhow due to his greed. Macbeth is not a rightful king; he was not selected by divine intervention and therefore has no right to the crown. Shakespeare shows Macbeth as finding “such sweetness by putting his nobles thus to death…” Only an evil, sinful man could find enjoyment in the act of killing.Conclusion:As usual, Shakespeare has taken one historical event and molded it to meet his needs of the day. In the case of Macbeth, Shakespeare was molding the play to meet his needs in pleasing the new Ki...
