3.3.5

Macduff

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Macduff - Loyal Subject

Macduff has a similar status to Macbeth at the start of the play. He is 'Thane of Fife'. He is a loyal subject to King Duncan.

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Response to Duncan's death

  • In Act 2, Scene 3, Macduff finds King Duncan's body: 'O horror, horror, horror, / Tongue nor heart cannot conceive, nor name thee.'
  • He is struggling to speak about what he has seen.
  • The fact he can’t speak properly here highlights the difference between him and Macbeth. Macbeth is always using words to explore his ideas and feelings. Macduff tells the others to go and see for themselves: 'Do not bid me speak.'
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Analysis

  • Macduff’s inability to speak could also show that he cannot believe what has happened: that someone has murdered their king, the man they should protect and be loyal to.
  • He would also be aware of the Divine Right of Kings, and the idea that God had chosen King Duncan to rule Scotland – for someone to go against this would mean that they would spend eternity in Hell. Macduff may not be able to understand why someone would disobey God like this.
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Hates Macbeth (because of the Divine Right of Kings)

  • Macduff doesn’t go to Macbeth's feast in Act 3, Scene 4: 'How sayst thou that Macduff denies his person / At our great bidding?' This shows that he doesn't support Macbeth's rule over Scotland.
  • When Macduff flees to England (once Macbeth is king), Malcolm initially distrusts Macduff because he was once Macbeth's friend. But Malcolm finds that Macduff hates the tyrant king. Macduff wishes to save Scotland from him and have Scotland return to 'wholesome days' (4,3).
  • Macduff firmly believes that King Duncan’s line was chosen by God to rule Scotland, and he wants to restore the natural order and place Duncan’s son on the throne.

Macduff - Honourable Hero

Macduff is both an honourable father and hero - unlike Macbeth, he does not enjoy killing others but sees it as a duty.

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Honourable father

  • Macbeth kills Macduff's family. Macduff becomes the wronged hero who wants to avenge the deaths of his loved ones.
  • In Act 5, Scene 7, when Macduff is looking for Macbeth, he says: 'Tyrant, show thy face! / If thou be'st slain, and with no stroke of mine, / My wife and children's ghosts will haunt me still'.
  • This suggests that Macduff feels haunted by the ghosts of his family. He may feel guilty that he could not protect them because he was away – in the Jacobean era, men were protectors of their wives and children.
  • Macduff is the honourable hero, and so would take this role seriously – this may be partly why he feels so guilty.
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Not ruthless

  • The quote also suggests that he considers killing Macbeth a burden.
    • Unlike Macbeth, Macduff really dislikes the fact that he must kill someone he once considered his friend and ally – he is the hero of the story, and does not enjoy killing; he only kills when he has to.

Macduff vs Macbeth - Good vs Evil

The battle between Macbeth and Macduff is a fight between good and evil.

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Macbeth - fears Macduff

  • When Macbeth meets with the witches in Act 4, Scene 1, the first apparition (ghost image) that he sees warns him to beware of Macduff. Macbeth says, 'thou hast harped my fear'.
  • The spirit is echoing Macbeth’s doubt about Macduff.
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Macduff - seeks revenge

  • Ross tells Macduff that Macbeth murdered his family: 'All my pretty ones? / Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?' (4,3)
    • His broken speech here shows how distressed he is by the news.
  • Macduff then seeks bloody revenge: 'Front to front / Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; / Within my sword's length set him'. (4,3)
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The fight - good vs evil

  • Macduff finally finds Macbeth in Act 5, Scene 8. He orders him, 'Turn, hell-hound, turn.'
  • His imperative (ordering) language shows that he is taking control and challenging Macbeth to fight.
  • The insult, 'hell-hound', reminds the audience of Macbeth's evil. This has become a fight between good and bad.
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Macduff's destiny

  • When Macbeth tells Macduff that he cannot be harmed by anyone born of woman, Macduff says the famous line: 'Macduff was from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped' (5,8).
  • The verb 'ripped' is aggressive as if the action of his birth has led him to this destiny now. It’s likely that his mother died in childbirth, so the baby was taken from her before she died.
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Dramatic tension

  • Before this, Macbeth had been arrogant, thinking that no one on Earth could kill him because of the witches’ prophecy: ‘none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth’ (4,1).
  • Here, however, there is a surprise twist for the audience as we discover that Macduff was not born in the traditional way – instead, he was removed from his mother’s womb.
  • The audience and Macbeth realise that he can kill him – the dramatic tension here is hugely increased, as we see Macbeth’s arrogance vanish in this instant.
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Defeats traitor

  • Macduff returns to the stage in the final scene with Macbeth's head.
  • He has made an example of him as a traitor (enemy to the country), just as Macbeth did at the start to Macdonald.
  • He leads the other lords in praising Malcolm as king of Scotland.

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