Imperfect Speakers: Macbeth and the Name of King

It has more than once been remarked that Macbeth can be read as a play about names and naming, and also about the deeply problematical status of the identities that names are presumed to designate. Viewed in such terms, the tragedy can be seen to reflect a concern with the ambiguities inherent in names and identity that constitute an abiding preoccupation in Shakespeare’s drama, and that have been extensively examined in connection with other works in the canon as well. What has received somewhat less attention than might appear to be warranted are the implications of the fact that the most conspicuous ‘‘name’’ around which this particular play revolves happens to be that of king, a circumstance that throws into particularly vivid relief some of the more troublesome issues involved in the process of naming.