Dear Macduff, A short while back you hired me to complete a task for you. This was to spy and collect information about Macbeth. I have now completed this and have some quite shocking news as you will soon be aware of as you read on. It all started at Macbeth’s banqueting hall which I was subsequently invited to. We all sat round a wooden table in the main hall waiting for Macbeth’s feast he had prepared for us. Macbeth and his queen wife, Lady Macbeth, They were both upon their thrones which were
Lady Macduff as a Foil for Lady Macbeth In many of Shakespeare’s plays, there is a major character, and a lesser character whose character traits directly contrast those of the major character. This literary device is called a foil. One example of this exists in the play Romeo and Juliet, in which Mercutrio foils Romeo’s character with his disdain for love and belief in man making his own destiny. Another example of foil exists in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. The character of Lady Macduff
instance, Macduff is protective of Lady Macduff when the are talking about the king being killed. The drama states,” Macduff: ‘O gentle lady,/ ‘Tis not for you to hear what I can speak...’” (Shakespeare 30). Although Macduff is being sexest with good intentions when he says this, I would protect someone from the truth if I thought I would hurt them in any way. In addition, Macduff is concerned with the welfare of the kingdom when he seeks out Malcolm to take it back. The drama states,” Macduff: ‘Let
to become king of Scotland after being told, by three witches, that his destiny is to rule Scotland. Macbeth's ambition overtakes him so much that he goes on a killing spree. Macbeth ends up killing the king, Duncan; his friend, Banquo; and rival, Macduff; in his pursuit of procuring the crown and keeping it. In the end, richesousness does triumph over evil, but not without interactions between the characters and the supernatural. Most of the characters are somehow connected to the supernatural, either
mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know." On page 249 Macbeth does a good job of hiding his dark side before finding the dead king with Macduff. "Is the king stirring, worthy Thane?" asks Macduff. "Not yet," replies Macbeth. "Goes the king hence today?" asks Macduff. "He does: he did appoint so," answers Macbeth. Although Macbeth has full knowledge of the king's death, he plays it off well and appears to know nothing. Lady Macbeth appears to be
Throughout The Tragedy of Macbeth, we see Macbeth change from a noble and brave soldier into a mere shadow of his former self. We meet Macbeth after a battle, the result of which has him named Thane of Cawdor. From this position, he falls to a paranoid man willing to do anything to remain in power. We can see his deterioration from the murders of Duncan and Banquo, Macbeth's second meeting with the witches, his treatment of Macduff's castle and his mental condition just before he is murdered.
shows that Macbeth will have the same fate as a murderer, being thrown into the flames of hell. There are other images of hell in the play. An example is in Act two, Scene three when the porter imagines himself to be the ‘porter of hell-gate’ when Macduff and Lenox knock on Macbeth’s castle door. Shakespearean audiences would have recognised this as Jesus knocking on the gates of hell. There is also the supernatural element as the witches call up the evil spirits they serve at line 62. This ties in
These feeling of pity are quite strong in some instances. The first example of pity is the general feeling for Duncan, Banquo and Macduff and his family after being slaughtered by Macbeth for the only reason of his personal ambition. Duncan was a fair and good king, and had even shown gratitude to Macbeth and Banquo after the battle in Act I. Also there is pity towards Macduff, who after leaving the country returns to find his wife and child murdered. The audience can relate to this by the unfairness
deserves. Macbeth is on both sides of the fence. He wins the battle in the first scene and is granted the title of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth lies and cheats his fellow men in the following scenes and is eventually killed in a heated battle with Macduff. He receives both his reward and his punishment in the course of the five-act play. Lady Macbeth makes her appearance in the play right after Macbeth receives his first predictions from the three Witches. She does not think twice about her actions
they seem. Thus he foolishly fortifies his castle with the few men he has left, banking on the fact that the events the witches predicted seem impossible. But in fact these predictions come true: the English army brings Birnam Wood to Dunsinane, and Macduff, who has been "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb, advances to kill Macbeth. The witches have equivocated; they told him a double truth, concealing the complex reality within a framework that seems simple. It is fitting that the play ends as
foul is fair" theme. First, while Malcom and Macduff are talking, we learn of Malcom's terrible nature, and that he would rape, pillage and steal were he king. This comes as a complete surprise to both the reader and to Macduff. Again, just as we're convinced by enough of Malcom's self-disgust, the see-saw tips. After a short speech from Macduff, Malcom suddenly changes his mind and becomes honorable. In the same scene, when Ross enters, he tells Macduff that his children are safe and well, only to
The choices that some characters made in the play put them in a position which they could not escape. In most of these cases the character feels remorse for the choice they had made. The characters that I will be concentrating on are Macbeth, Macduff, and Lady Macbeth. These characters are the best examples of how characters could not escape their choices in the play. The actions of Macbeth during the play sometimes put him in a situation which he could not escape. An example of this is
Such events occurred when Macbeth was crowned Thane of Cawdor, when regicide was committed against King Duncan by Macbeth, when the porter of Macbeth’s home pretended to be the gatekeeper of hell and also when Macbeth ordered his servants to kill Macduff. These parts not only grow the characters’ roles but also make the story even more exciting and leave the audience hungry for more action. They also introduce us to the themes of the play such as the deadly strength of unbridled ambition and even
John Paul Jones The Bonhomme Richard vs. The HMS Serapis 	John Paul was born in the small fishing village of Arbigland, Scotland on July 6, 1747. To his parents John Paul and Jean MacDuff he was the fourth child. They had seven children but unfortunately all but two died in infancy. The family was originally from Fife but John Paul's father had taken the family and moved to Arbigland where William Craik, the owner of a large estate their had met him and hired him to be his gardener. John Paul
Women's Sinister Roles in Macbeth In reading Shakespeare's tragic drama Macbeth, one meets only one good woman - Lady Macduff. The remaining female characters are basically evil. Let's consider mainly Lady Macduff and only briefly the three witches. Blanche Coles states in Shakespeare's Four Giants that Macbeth's wife had considerable leverage over her husband's mind: This was her opportunity to do as she had promised herself she would do after she had read the letter - to pour
and a movie version by Roman Polanski produced in 1970. Three major differences will be discussed. One difference between Shakespeare's and Polanski's version is the absence of the scene in England in Polanski's version. In the Original MacBeth, MacDuff goes to England to convince Malcolm to return and fight MacBeth. The scene of the longest of the play; it is very drawn out and lengthy. Polanski simply eliminates this scene and shows Malcolm back in Scotland. The reason I feel that Polanski did
MacBeth is Responsible for His Downfall There were many wrongs committed in "MacBeth." But who should bear the major responsibility for these actions? The witches' prophesising? Lady MacBeth's scheming and persuasion? Or should MacBeth himself be held responsible? No doubt the witches and lady MacBeth influenced MacBeth in the course of action he took in his rise to power, but ultimately he must bear the major responsibility for his fate. The witches played an undoubtedly large role
friend’s family and because of this Tyranny, paranoia sets in on Macbeth who sees many ghostly visions of people he sent out to be murdered. Scotland greatly suffers under his reign, this turns Lady Macbeth mad, and she eventually commits suicide. Macduff, eventually goes to England to ask for the help of the noble king Edward, who is highly respected for help to overthrow the leadership of Macbeth, and so the Anglo-Scottish revolt sees Macbeth to his death and Malcolm the son of Duncan is proclaimed
what is expected. One example is when Macduff is speaking with Malcolm about the tragedies in Scotland, not knowing that his family has been murdered. He says: “Let us rather Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men Bestride our down-fall’n birthdom. Each new morn New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds As if it felt with Scotland and yelled out Like syllable of dolor (IV, iii, 4-7).” Macduff, ironically, is remarking on new widows
that he knows he has lived a sinful life, “Seyton I am sick at hearth, when I behold Seyton I have live’d long enough.” (Act V Scene III, Lines 20-22) Ambition takes over Macbeth when he decides to hire assassinators to kill Macduffs wife and children, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to the edge of the sword in this line.” Lanoue 2 (Act IV Scene I Lines 150-153) Macbeth shows the insignificance of his morals and responsibilities by his actions, he shows that becoming