A final point worth noting is Macbeth's reported inability to answer "Amen" to a solemn prayer to God. Shakespeare's post-medieval world still strictly adhered to the binary opposition between the divine and the occult, or to put it in more ecclesiastic terms, between Christ and Satan. The belief went that Satanic forces would not, or could not pay homage to Christ. Thus, Macbeth's inability to answer "Amen" reflects his debasement, sinking to the ranks of the witches and joining his wife there (recall her prayer to "spirits" in I.v.40). More specifically, James, king of England, was in competition with the king of Scotland at the time, and let us not fail to