Malcolm's Speech In Macbeth

Malcolm’s speech in the final scene of the play to his noblemen signifies that he has matured into a worthy ruler, signifying the end of Macbeth’s reign of terror on Scotland and the beginning of a new era. Through the coronation of Malcolm as king, this speech represents the theme of power in the play as it is shifted off of Macbeth’s shoulders, onto Malcolms. Since Malcolm has inherited his rightful throne as King of Scotland, his first decision is to reward his colleagues for all they have done to help him, saying that not much time will pass before he evaluates their contributions and repays them for the help. This is unlike Macbeth because Malcolm has already shown characteristics of a humble ruler that actually cares about his citizens. …show more content…
This use of inversion signifies that Malcolm no longer speaks like a normal citizen of Scotland, he has adopted the characteristics of a royal king and is speaking very ornately. He then explains what he will do for Scotland, saying he has a lot to do at the beginning of this new era and he needs to call back everyone who fled Macbeth’s tyrannical rule. Once he starts to correct everything, he will serve justice to all Macbeth’s supporters, punishing them for accompanying Macbeth in his reign. This expresses how Malcolm has really changed as a character. He is no longer lingering in the shadows, away from the big picture. He is now taking control and being an assertive force on the throne. This section of the monologue uses 2 literary devices, metaphor and dramatic irony. Metaphor is used to compare Macbeth’s tyranny to a snare, which is a trap used to catch wild animals until someone comes to kill them. This is used to display how brutal Macbeth’s rule was and once you were in, you were trapped and could never escape. Dramatic irony is also used when Malcolm talks about bringing justice to all of Macbeth’s supporters, when in reality we know that everyone has either deserted Macbeth or simply died in battle. There is no one alive that deserves justice, but Malcolm is …show more content…
This speech in total is the traditional conclusion to Shakespearean plays, effectively wrapping everything up in a positive way for Scotland and restoring the rightful power to the throne. This restoration of power expresses the theme of Kingship vs. Tyranny in the sense that Scotland is no longer being ruled by the brutal tyrant, it is being ruled by a humble king, just like the times before Macbeth came along. It also finishes off the conflict of Macbeth vs. pretty much everybody. His conflict with Macduff and Malcolm is concluded with his demise, allowing Malcolm to regain his rightful throne and Macduff to avenge his