What did Macbeth mean by he's here in double trust?

Answer 1

Macbeth says "He's here in double trust" in Shakespeare's Macbeth. He is considering the possibility of assassinating his king, Duncan, so that he can ascend to the throne. He means that Duncan has two reasons to trust Macbeth: 1: He is "his kinsman and his subject," so he would naturally be repulsed by the idea of killing Duncan; 2: Macbeth is hosting the king in his home; Duncan would assume that Macbeth would be sheltering him because of this, so he would not suspect his host to be the murderer. The use of the word "trust" in this line is very good. When Shakespeare could just say "Duncan wouldn't suspect me for two reasons," he concisely presents the idea of a very natural trust that Duncan has in Macbeth, a trust which Macbeth is about to betray.

Answer 2

Macbeth is talking (to himself) in a soliloquy, and he is talking about King Duncan. 'He's here in double trust:

First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,

Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,

Who should against his murderer shut the door,

Not bear the knife myself.'

By double trust he means that Duncan is trusting him in two ways - as a kinsman and a host, therefor double.

Answer 3

Macbeth is thinking about the reasons why he shouldn't kill Duncan. One of the reasons is that murdering someone who has placed his trust in you is worse than any ordinary murder. Breach of trust makes any crime worse. Why is Macbeth trusted by Duncan? Macbeth can think of two reasons to start with, which is why he calls it a "double trust". But in the end he thinks of three which should make it a "triple trust". The first trust relationship is between family. Duncan is his kinsman, and so should be able to trust him. Secondly, Macbeth has sworn allegiance to Duncan as subject to king, and so Duncan should be able to trust him. And there is a third huge reason: Duncan is his guest. A guest should be able to trust that his host will keep away murderers, not bear the knife himself. There was a serious taboo against this kind of breach of trust: see the reaction to the Massacre at Glencoe; although this was a murder by guest of his host, it was equally heinous.

Answer 4

He's not talking to anyone, it's a soliloquy - a device used in drama which enables a character to voice his thoughts/feelings aloud for the audience to hear.