Macduff is always suspicious about Macbeth for Duncan’s death. He decides to leave his family and going to find Malcolm in England. Even though Shakespeare did not describe Macduff’s feeling when he is on his way to England in the play, but I can imagine that he must be worried, desperate, and uncertain, about his family, country, whether he can find Malcolm and convinces him to fight against Macbeth. And I can also feel his determination and hope to save his country from Macbeth, because if he doesn’t have a firm faith, he would stay with his family and would not be contrary to Macbeth. Instand, he go on “an unknown road and embrace [his] fate” until he find Malcolm.
In modern translation, Malcolm has finally settled with the fact that Macduff is truly loyal to him and believes that he can be a better king than Macbeth. This quote is an inner trait that shows Macduff is a trustworthy and honorable person so much that Malcolm trusts him to take back Scotland from
Before Macbeth meets with Macduff, he thinks of ways to handle Macduff so he would no longer be a problem. Macduff was considered to be a problem because he left the kingdom in order to assist an opposing force. Macbeth states “Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee? But yet I’ll make assurance double sure, and take a bond of fate.” (Act IV scn i, ln 82-84) He wants to make sure Macduff will not be a problem; he wants to keep Macduff out of his way. In this scene Macbeth is attempting to discover ways to inforce his superiority through the phrase “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword his wife, his babies, and all unfortunate souls.” (Act IV scn i, ln 150-152) He hired men to kill Macduff’s family, so he will be depressed and will grieve; he wants to keep Macduff out of the way of him still being King. The main reason he did this, however, was to exert his leadership over Macduff and send a message. This paragraph explains how Macbeth was disloyal to Macduff and how he did anything to keep Macduff out of his way, but things did not turn out as he
While Macduff is in England, Macbeth learns of the abandonment of Macduff's family and resolves to have them murdered. When Macduff learns of the murder of his family, he is motivated by Malcolm to get revenge. It is this that pushes Macduff to the edge and forces him to go after Macbeth himself. The power of Malcolm's taunting that he must take it like a man and his own love for his family makes him hate Macbeth to the fullest extent, and eventually he succeeds in killing him.
Macduff is also a character that deals with guilt. He is guilty of leaving his entire family behind in Scotland which is eventually why they are killed. He uses this guilt to drive him to bring Macbeth down. If Macduff would have thought to bring his wife and children they wouldn't have died. This shows that every action has consequences and those consequences must be taken into consideration.
Macduff is motivated by his patriotism, and his love for his country. He is a flat main character, whereas he has no major changes throughout the play. He fights for what he believes and his actions have effects on the other characters. Though he did not suspect Macbeth as to being a traitor and killing Duncan, he did not think that he was fit to rule the state. His actual anger to Macbeth came with the slaughter of his family. It serves as more motivation for him, and without it Macbeth may have lived through the final battle. Throughout the play you see that Macduff has always been the foil to Macbeth, causing the worry in him that overthrew his rule, and that Macduff is the hero that Scotland
Macduff’s burning desire for revenge towards Macbeth was encouraged by many forces. As it is known, Macbeth murders Duncan which causes Malcolm to flee to England because he fears for his life. Following Duncan’s death, Macduff was the first to discover Duncan dead, and it can be inferred that he was so angry and mortified that it sparks apprehensiveness towards Macbeth’s acquiring the throne. As he realizes that he does not agree with Macbeth’s reign, he decides to leave his family behind in Fife to go to England to find Malcolm, the true heir to the throne. His plan is to conspire with Malcolm to build an army against Macbeth. Macduff was so loyal to Scotland and the true ruler that he was willing to abandon his family in the process of freeing Scotland from tyranny. As he meets with Malcolm, Ross delivers the news that
Macduff's ambition in this play was to be loyal to his country by taking out Macbeth. Too much of his time is spent plotting against Macbeth, which throws off Macduff’s values. He abandons his family and left for England to find Malcolm so he could wage war against Macbeth. Later, Macbeth hears that the recent absence of Macduff at the banquet and at Duncan’s funeral was because he had fled to England, to find Malcolm. So Macbeth reacts to this by sending murderers to kill Macduff's family. Once Macduff finds out that his family is dead, he starts to exhibit some emotion. At this time he is about to wage war on Macbeth with Malcolm; Malcolm say's to Macduff "Dispute it like a man"(4.3.259). Macduff then replies,
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 foils Lady Macbeth in her lack ambition, her genuine love of family life and her devotion to her husband.
In the beginning of the play, we see that Macduff is barely mentioned in Act I, but his intelligence can be noted when he hears about King Duncan’s death. When the Scottish nobles are going to welcome Macbeth as the new king of Scotland, Macduff is skeptical of how King Duncan’s death will change the story throughout the play. At first, Macduff agrees with the fact that Malcolm and Donalbain are most likely suspects in the murder of their father because someone saw them fled the scene
Throughout history, woman have been designated limited roles due to their gender. In a traditional and outdated society, woman are usually restricted to the role of caretaker for their family. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the essential example of being a woman is Lady Macduff. She cares for her children and will do anything to protect them. Breaking this traditional role is Lady Macbeth who is depicted as unfit for the job of being a mother. She constantly challenges the role of gender through her actions and words. Lady Macduff and Lady Macbeth are designed to contrast each other in order to enhance certain qualities in their character. This relationship is called a foil and is frequently used by Shakespeare. Lady Macduff’s embodiment of a
In the play Macbeth, ambition, strength, and insanity play major roles in how the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth behave and react. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth present all 3 of these behaviors at one time or another during the play. However, there behaviors progress in very different ways. While Macbeth gets stronger and more ambitious, Lady Macbeth does the opposite. She starts out strong and ambitious, but becomes weaker and more reserved.
Macduff's only ambition is to kill Macbeth, the man who has murdered his wife and children. He has no interest in personal gain and is the first character in the play to understand that Fortune rules you, you don't rule Fortune. This is a certain indicator that he'll be the one to take down the tyrant, who is always challenging
This refusal to go celebrate his new Kings coronation is a very big deal considering the time period of the play. Kings were viewed as second to only god in the great chain of being and to not show up to a coronation shows complete disrespect from Macduff. Macduff is the only nobleman not to go, showing how he is different from the rest and the only one suspecting Macbeth may be the culprit. This unique ability Macduff carries foreshadows his tenacious opposing force against Macbeth later in the play.
Macduff heard about the death of his entire castle and became committed to revenge. “But gentle heavens, cut short al intermission: front to front bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; within my sword’s length set him; if he ‘scape, heaven forgive him too!” (Shakespeare IV.iii.66) Macbeth received a second set of prophecies that gave him a very large and false confidence. “What’s the boy Malcolm? Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know all mortal consequences have pronounced me thus: `fear not, Macbeth; no man that’s born of woman shall e’er have upon thee.’ Then fly, false thanes, and mingle with the
The various reasons Malcolm gives for being suspicious of Macduff is that Macbeth may have sent him to kill Malcolm. Considering Macduff is loyal to Macbeth in the past and this caused Malcolm to doubt and not trust Macduff. Afterall, Macduff reacts by getting offended by Malcolm questions and tells him he's not a villain.