In the first act of "Macbeth," King Duncan of Scotland describes Macbeth as "noble" (I,ii,66). That he proves to be a poor of judge of character is one of the situational ironies of the play. For, of course, he is slain by this "noble" Macbeth who aligns himself with witches in his evil desire for power.
Earlier in Act I some of Macbeth's savage tendencies are even foreshadowed as the captain describes how Macbeth fought the Irish foot soldiers and heavily armed soldiers (the "kerns and gallowglasses"):
Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,/Which smoked with bloody execution,/Like valor's minion carved out his passage/Till he faced the slave;/Which nev'r shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,/Till he unseamed him from the nave to th'chops,/And fixed his head upon his battlements (I,ii,17-23)
It is evidence of his poor judgment of character that Duncan responds to this knowlege with "O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!" (I,ii,24), for it seems that Macbeth has brutally slaughtered a man, decapitated him and impaled the head for all to see. After this, the king bestows the title of Thane of Cawdor upon Macbeth, who has killed this "traitor."
The dramatic irony of Duncan's line "What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won" cannot be lost upon the audience as it is the traitorous Macbeth who later slays King Duncan who with loving comments ("we love him highly" (I,vii,29) has just been a guest at Macbeth's castle.
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