At the end of the play,and Ladyhave already
been punished by their early deaths, preceded, in both cases by considerable mental anguish.
Once they are gone and he is the undisputed King of Scotland,restores order to his kingdom by
describing his agenda for the immediate future. First, he bestows earldoms on all the loyal
thanes who fought with him, a curious Anglicizing gesture perhaps intended to refer to the
unification of England and Scotland under James I and VI (who, of course, believed himself to be
the descendent of ).
Next, Malcolm plans to call back those Scots who were
loyal toand who fled overseas to escape the tyrannical reign of Macbeth. This will involve
restoring their former lands and titles, a restitution which presumably includes his brother ,
though he is not mentioned by name. He will also seek out the cruel ministers who assisted
Macbeth in his tyranny, though he does not mention their punishment. Presumably the thanes who
fled will receive earldoms, like those in Malcolms army, but no other rewards or punishments are
specified. The greatest omission is that we do not hear howwill be rewarded for killing the
usurper and leading the cheer in hailing Malcolm as King of Scotland. The titles of Thane of
Cawdor and Thane of Glamis (or perhaps now Earl of Cawdor and Earl of Glamis) have, of course,
recently fallen vacant.
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