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In Orson Welles' 1948 film adaptation of Macbeth, the role of King Duncan is reduced. 1.2 is cut entirely as well as generous portions of 1.4. King Duncan is seen briefly in 1.6 as he enters Macbeth's castle amid considerable pomp. The top of 1.4 with its description of Cawdor's execution has been transplanted to this scene.
King Duncan himself soon welcomes and praises Macbeth and Banquo, declaring that he will spend the night at Macbeth's castle in Inverness; also, Duncan's son Malcolm is announced as his heir. Macbeth sends a letter ahead to his wife, telling her about the witches' pronouncements.
The title is a phrase from William Shakespeare's Macbeth, where Lady Macbeth, preparing herself to murder King Duncan, says "Come, thick night, / And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, / That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, / Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, / To cry, Hold, hold!" (Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5)
The character is based on the historical king Malcolm III of Scotland, and is derived largely from the account in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of Britain. He is the elder son of King Duncan, the heir to the throne, and brother to Donalbain. [1] In the end, he regains the throne after mustering support to overthrow Macbeth.
The ancestry of King Duncan is not certain. In modern texts, he is the son of Crínán, hereditary lay abbot of Dunkeld, and Bethóc, daughter of King Malcolm II.However, in the late 17th century the historian Frederic Van Bossen, after collecting historical accounts throughout Europe, identified King Duncan as the first son of Abonarhl ap crinan (the grandson of Crinan) and princess Beatrice ...
One of Shakespeare's principal sources is the Holinshed (1587) [2] [full citation needed] account of King Duncan. Holinshed described the future King Macbeth of Scotland and his companion Banquo encountering "three women in strange and wild apparell, resembling creatures of elder world" who hail the men with glowing prophecies and then vanish ...
With anguish, she recalls the deaths of King Duncan, Lady Macduff, and Banquo, then leaves. The Gentlewoman and the bewildered Doctor exeunt, realizing these are the symptoms of a guilt-ridden mind. The Doctor feels Lady Macbeth is beyond his help, saying she has more need of "the divine than the physician".
In the Chronicles version, Macbeth is a much more sympathetic character. King Duncan is depicted as a weak ruler who violates the Scottish laws of succession by failing to consult with the Thanes before naming his son, a mere child named Malcolm, to rule after him. Macbeth and many other Thanes are enraged by this action.