Act 1 Scene 4

nothing in his life

Became him like the leaving it; he died
As one that had been  studied  in his death
To throw away the dearest thing he  owed,
As 'twere a careless trifle.

In this extract from Act 1 Scene 4 ,in the royal palace at Forress, Malcolm, son of Duncan
describes the execution of Cawdor, who has taken part in Norwegian campaigns against his
own king, Duncan , King of Scotland. Here Malcolm is reporting to Duncan the manner in
which Thane of Cawdor has acted at the time of his execution. Malcolm seems to describe the
death in the very accents of admiration. He has not seen the execution himself, but has been
hearing an account of it from another. Malcolm says that whatever Cawdor has done when he
has been alive is not worth as how he has acted in his death. Of course he does not approve
Cawdor’s traitorous acts; but Malcolm is impressed that Cawdor is not afraid of death, nor begs
mercy in a cowardly way. Malcolm's report of the execution of the disloyal Thane of Cawdor
emphasizes the dignity with which even a traitor can go to his death.

Cawdor frankly confesses his treason, requests Duncan’s forgiveness, and manifests sincere
repentance. In fact, he embraces death in the most graceful manner and dignity.In describing
the manner of Cawdor’s death, Malcolm praises him very highly. Even though he has stained
his life by act of treason, he embraces death graciously and honorably.Towards the end of his
life, he realizes that his greed is deep rooted in ignorance. So he confesses his sin and is ready to
throw away his dearest possession “To throw away the dearest thing he owed’’ without any
regret. His repentance illustrates him to be a worthy man. The demeanour in which a warrior,
even a traitor such as Cawdor, acts at the moment of his execution is important to Duncan and
his court.

Here Shakespeare tries to reveal the bitter fact that human beings are forced to leave everything
that we have acquired from this treacherous world and we are mere puppets in the hands of
fate.We are destined to ‘’study’’ and prepare ourselves for death as an actor does for playing the
part he has rehearsed. ‘Study’ here is a technical word, used of an actor for learning his part by
heart.Through the original Thane of Cawdor Shakespeare portrays the tragic fate future holds
for Macbeth and pictures how Macbeth is going to deceive Duncan. Duncan has had placed
‘’absolute trust’’ on the previous Thane of Cawdor but he has used this trustworthiness to
deceive Duncan. Indirectly Shakespeare connects this scene to Macbeth’s future plans and his
fate. In this extract Shakespeare portrays ‘’ an open awareness of man’s ignorance, greed and
its consequences’’. Thus, we see that Shakespeare by giving the rebel a touch of nobility in
death has made his characterization more realistic and ‘rounded’.