In the play Macbeth, or more commonly referred to as the Cursed Scottish Play, the multitude of death and betrayal covers up or destroys the potential heroism of many characters, except for that of Macduff. His purity, courage, and sacrifice throughout the course of the play enable this hero to eventually orchestrate the fall of Macbeth. When the audience is first introduced to Macduff, he arrives to Macbeth’s home to deliver a message to Duncan, the current king. Prior to his arrival, Macbeth was appointed Thane of Cawdor for his success in battle (1, 106); this position opened after the former Thane of Cawdor betrayed Scotland, and he was subsequently executed for his disloyalty and corruption. This disloyalty initiates a snowball effect …show more content…
In Act Two, Macduff has the misfortune of discovering the body of King Duncan. He is completely shocked by the murder, and he proclaims the horror to the castle’s occupants; he goes as far as to call the terrible act “treason” (2, 49). As he arrived after the murder occurred, Macduff is undoubtedly the only person in the castle who did not commit the crime, automatically building his pure foundation for the play. His comments of treason inform the audience of his patriotism for the country and its leadership, and they show his sincere sorrow for the loss of a great leader. Later on in the play, Macduff again displays this patriotism when he attempts to gain assistance for his suffering country. Macbeth continually drives Scotland towards starvation, poverty, and destruction as his sanity decreases, causing Macduff to travel into England and request aid from the King Edward so that he may “Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights, free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives, do faithful homage and receive free honors” (3, 32 – 35). Unlike multiple other characters, Macduff is not working to overthrow Macbeth out of …show more content…
From the time Macbeth took the power of the Scottish throne, many more innocent civilians and royal officials have been executed by Macbeth to satisfy his lust for complete power. This central focus on power plunged the country into despair and lowered the wellbeing of his subjects, causing mass disapproval and speaking out from everyone; this subsequently led to Macbeth murdering anyone who spoke against him. This, as well as in seeking aid for Scotland, causes Macduff to travel to England, as, “For from broad words, and ‘cause he failed his presence at the tyrant’s feast, I hear Macduff lives in disgrace” (3, 22 – 23). Macbeth continues to ruin Scotland, causing Macduff to speak out, yet in a plain and concerned manner, rather than a boastful, selfish tone. Many would not dare speak against the king, as doing so ensures certain death. The courage of Macduff, however, does not prevent him from holding his tongue nor his actions, and he seeks to help Scotland without much regard for Macbeth’s backlash. This backlash, however, reaches Macduff’s family, and Macbeth orders everyone slain, which leaves only Macduff alive in England. Even though he no longer possesses anything in Scotland to physically fight for and protect, Macduff resolves to courageously fight for Scotland and rid it of Macbeth, while at the same time he works to avenge the murders of his family and household. Macduff’s final
Even though others question Macduff’s responsibility for his family’s murder, "Why in that rawness left you wife and child”, he ultimately left them out of love for both family and country. Macduff’s persistent desire to defeat Macbeth determines his loyalty to country, rather than to the tyrant Macbeth. From the beginning, Macduff has valued country over leader, so when Duncan is murdered, and Macbeth will be coronated, “Will you go to scone/No, cousin, I’ll to Fife” (2.4.35-36). Macduff doesn’t attend the coronation because he is suspicious of Macbeth and his possible involvement in Duncan’s
His personality lacks the energy to sustain the commitments of his loyal heart. In expressing his loyalty to the dead king, he ignores his equally great commitment to protect his family. Macduff returns from the scene of Duncan’s murder, crying "O Horror, horror, horror!" (Act II, Scene 3, 63) The response of the other lords is revealing.
Thirdly, feelings of paranoia and guilt cause Macbeth characters to make damaging choices. When Macbeth asks the witches to reveal the truth of their prophecies to him, they summon horrible apparitions, each of which offers a prediction to allay Macbeth’s fears. First, a floating head warns him to beware Macduff. Macbeth says that he has already guessed as much. Later when Lennox enters and tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth in reply says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; / Seize upon Fife; give to th'edge o'th'sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line.” (4.1.149-152). As Macbeth descends to madness he becomes obsessed with eliminating any threats to his power. Macbeth orders the murderers to kill Macduff's family and eliminate any threat to him. Ironically, this is the moment that Macbeth seals his own fate, by murdering Macduff's family he ensures Macduff's retaliation against him, which ultimately leads
Some people are just meant to be heroes. In this wonderful play by Shakespeare Macduff is a good choice and born to be a hero. Throughout Macbeth there are several examples of Macduffs heroism and bravery. Macduff is a loving, caring man of action, Thane of Fife and a Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth's kingship. When he leaves his loving family to flee to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth has Macduff's wife and children murdered. At the end of the play, Macduff (who was born through a caesarian section) kills Macbeth bringing prosperity back to Scotland, and proving the truth in the witches prophecy that "no man of woman born" can harm Macbeth and his true heroism.
The tragic events that occur in Macbeth begin with the murder of Scotland’s beloved king, Duncan. When Macduff discovers his king dead in his bed he expresses true grief and sorrow, appalled that anybody could have the heart to kill such an innocent man. When Macbeth, trying to avoid blame for the murder he committed, said that he murdered the King’s guards out of grief, Macduff was the only one of the noblemen to sense that Macbeth’s actions didn’t quite make sense and asks, “Wherefore did you so?” (2.3.109). Macduff initially seems to believe that the King’s own sons were responsible for this heinous act, but is hesitant to fully trust Macbeth. Instead of attending the royal feast to honor Macbeth as Scotland’s new king, he returns home to Fife where he can stay away from the place of his King’s death (2.4.36). Macduff’s absence also rem...
Macduff leaves an impression of his loyalty on his friends. Macduff was in England, when he was questioned about Malcolm’s reign. ”Fit to govern? No, not to live.” (4.3.105) Macduff is remaining loyal to Scotland by trying to protect it from the kind of king Malcolm claims to be. Before waking Duncan, Macduff says to Macbeth. “I’ll make so bold to call, For ’tis my limited service.” (2.3.25) Macduff follows every order because of his loyalty to the king. After Duncan is murdered, Macduff mourns as he tells the news. “Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight With a new Gorgon.” (2.3.45) This is the extent of Macduff’s loyalty, he is absolutely heartbroken and mournful as he informs the rest about Duncan’s death. Throughout the course of the play, Macduff shows a strong sense of loyalty and is always doing what is best for his country.
Macbeth won 't realize the repercussions of his actions because Macduff was not at the castle where he was supposed to be murdered with his family. Madness is another theme of the second scene in act four, the main source of this madness is Macbeth himself. Macbeth is the reason Macduff left for England to seek Malcom so that he would return to England to find Malcom and ask him to come back as the true heir of the throne. Lady Macduff says in act four scene two lines 3-5 that “His flight was madness when our actions do not, Our fears make us traitors.” What she meant was that Macduff fleeing like that was crazy and that she isn 't too sure of the reason, but that when someone is frightened and leaves in that type of haste, that they are traitors. Little does she know that there is a significant reason for his fast trip and that is to restore Scotland by finding Malcom and declaring war with
... Macduff, was able to figure out that Macbeth was behind the murders. He went to England to get help from King Edward to overthrow Macbeth. When he gets back to Scotland he confronts Macbeth and then kills him. The truth of his acts caught up with him and he got what he deserved. This play is a prime example of why people need to think about the reality of their actions and think about how it will affect them in the future.
For example, because he felt threatened by Macduff, he chose to kill his entire family. This caused Macduff to be filled with many emotions. He felt upset at the loss of his family but also angry knowing Macbeth's true personality. He even told Malcolm out of anger, "Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself. Within my sword’s length set him; if he ’scape, Heaven forgive him too." Macduff explained to Malcolm that he would avenge his family's death by fighting Macbeth. After the fight between the two, MacDuff returned exclaiming "Hail king! For so thou art. Behold where stands The usurper’s cursèd head. The time is free. I see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s pearl, That speak my salutation in their minds, Whose voices I desire aloud with mine. Hail, King of Scotland!" Macbeth was killed by Macduff, and his position as king, which he had worked so hard to obtain was given up to Malcolm. Macbeth lost his position only because he chose to deceive the public. Had Macbeth actually been a good king, and not deceived the public with a false image, he would still be alive, and have
One such character in “Macbeth” is Macduff, the Thane of Fife. Within the play, Macduff is the foil ; a character that exemplifies the contrasting characteristics of another character, who is Macbeth in this play. In stark contrast to Macbeth, Macduff resolves to restore peace and order in Scotland, which Macbeth has disrupted. After King Duncan's unfortunate demise and the coincidental murder of Scotland's Commander and Macbeth's dear friend, Banquo, Macduff suspects that Macbeth is not the “innocent flower”(1.5.56-57) he pretends to be. Macduff finds himself on the course to England, where Malcolm, the rightful heir to the throne, has found refuge. He wishes that Malcolm would reclaim the throne as the legitimate heir, which shows his allegiance to the royal family. Instead of grasping the throne for himself, he decides to endanger his family to restore the lawful king. When he was informed of the assassination of his kin, he was able to express his grief, like a true man. In this line Macduff mourns for the loss of his family, “...All my pretty ones/ Did you say "all"? O hell-kite! All? / What, all my pretty chickens and their dam/ At one fell swoop?”(4.3.255-258). Here, Macduff's immense capacity to sacrifice for the common good of his people is shown. Consequently, the following lines display his course of actions at the
Macduff was the first to openly defy Macbeth by his decision to go to his castle in Fife rather than Macbeth’s coronation in “Scone” (2.4). Macduff flees to England to rally support and revolt against Macbeth (4.3). Macduff acts on his free will, uninfluenced by the power of Macbeth nor others, and does what he believes to be the best for himself and everyone else. He retains his independent thoughts and his sense of masculinity despite the consequences he might suffer, standing his grounds with his beliefs and ideology of being a true patriot. Later on, upon hearing the news of his family’s murder, Macduff shows his sensitivity: “I shall [disput it like a man], but I must also feel it like a man” (4.3). He depicts the ability to have emotions and link it to his masculinity as a part of human traits, embracing his weaknesses and flaws and showing that he also acts as he believes he should act. The sharp contrast between Macbeth’s cowardly actions and Macduff’s strong will is shown at the final battle between the two; Macbeth refuses to fight with Macduff when Macbeth learns Macduff is that one person in the prophecy that would defeat Macbeth until Macduff threatens to capture him alive and humiliates him in front of the crowd (5.8).Once again, Macbeth masculinity is threatened, and he gives in to the threat rather than stand his ground, leading to his ultimate demise. Macduff’s
According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does macbeth do this?
Macbeth thinks Macduff is a traitor for fleding to England, so he orders his family to be killed. A murderer takes orders from Macbeth to kill everyone in Macbeth’s castle. Ross tells Macduff that Macbeth had Macduff’s family and everyone else in his castle killed. (Shakespeare,
Seeking for greater power, Macbeth murders Duncan who is the king at that time, which caused a great pain for the kingdom. Duncan is a great king, but just not a so good human reader. He has never been aware of Macbeth. He never have a thought that Macbeth might be a danger, who is willing to kill him for the throne. On the other hand, Macbeth does not accept to be just a general for the rest of his life. He wants a greater power, higher position than he is having at the time. Because of the suggests from the trio witches: “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.2.49-50), Macbeth has the thinking about killing the king to take his throne. By calling Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, they give Macbeth the thought that being a king is his fate. On the night Macbeth is planning to murder Duncan, the Old Man see many strange events: “And Duncan’s horses (a thing most strange and certain),/ Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, /Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out/ Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would/ Make war with mankind” (2.4.14-18). It creates a scary feeling in the kingdom, and means something bad will happen to the kingdom.
Duncan's murder also turns his lords against him, and when the time of the battle comes, they desert him. His people, obviously not content with his rule, also desert him, and when the opposing army arrives at Dunsinane hill, Macbeth’s army leaves. "Where they not forced with those that should be ours,"(5.5.5). Macbeth has lost "honor, love, obedience, troops of friends" (5.3.29), because of his evil deeds, and this is what physically ends Macbeth. Feeling anger towards Macduff for having fled, Macbeth murders his whole family, and makes Macduff a powerful enemy. When Malcolm returns from England with an army, Macduff is there, as are most of the Lords of Scotland. But Macduff searches for Macbeth with the sole purpose of avenging his family. They fight and Macduff is victorious, he slays Macbeth, and proclaims Malcolm the rightful king of Scotland. As a result of his abuse on his people and his evil actions Macbeth's reign is brought to an end. For having followed evil, Macbeth is