King Duncan, the King of Scotland in the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, was a great King that everyone loved. Being liked by your followers is one of the most influential aspects that makes a good leader. A harsh and strict leader will not have many loyal to him; which means they will lash out and make life harder on him so that he will desert the throne. Or that is what they hope will happen. But when the followers believe in everything that the leader stands for and feels that leader treat everyone with respect, they will be loyal. Loyalty is another huge aspect of being a good leader. When there are people who like you as their King, they will do more to protect them than they would someone they dislike. King Duncan was a leader that everyone loved. " Upon the sightless couriers of the air,/shall blow the horrid deed in every eye/ that tears shall drown the wind" (1.7.23-25). This is said by Macbeth, when he is contemplating whether to kill King Duncan or not. He is saying that if he committed the deed of killing the King, all of Scotland would be devastated. They believe that he is such a good leader that they would be lost without him. The people of Scotland were very devoted and loyal to King Duncan. " I have no spur/ to prick the sides of my intent" (1.7.25-26). Macbeth is saying that there is no bad characteristic that King Duncan has that would even allow for Macbeth to think about killing him. He is such a great leader that even a person who wants his job would kill him. The only reason that Macbeth could come up with to kill Duncan was for personal gain and even then he felt that Duncan was too great to kill and he, Macbeth, wouldn't be able to live with himself.
Machiavelli would say that Macbeth is a good leader because he took action to get something he wanted. A quote from the book, The Prince, by Machiavelli says " The ends justify the means." Machiavelli is saying that it doesn't matter how you get what you want, as long as in the end, you get it. Macbeth is a good example of this quote because he murdered 3 people for personal gain, but according to Machiavelli, it doesn't matter that Macbeth killed 3 people, just that he got to be King in the end. Machiavelli also said " Politics have no relation to morals." This connects to the first quote because it means that in politics it doesn't matter what you do to win. Macbeth's actions folow along the lines of these quotes; he did whatever he could to gain a large political status, even if it meant hurting people or if it wasn't morally right. Machiavelli would have thought that Macbeth is a good leader, he knew how to get what he wanted and he did it. In the eyes of Maciavelli, those action make Macbeth fit to rule and lead.
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