Malcolm in William Shakespeare's Macbeth Essay

(Act 4, Scene 3, Line 3-4). In modern translation, Macduff is telling Malcom that they shouldn’t be skulking around in their tears and instead they should grab their swords and take back Scotland from Macbeth. This quote is an inner trait that shows how patriotic and loyal Macduff is towards his country and shows how he must remain strong to defend his homeland from the tyrant, Macbeth. During the last visit with the witches, Macbeth is told by the apparitions that he should fear the noble thane Macduff.

Suspicion turns to accusations, and Macduff starts building armies against Macbeth. Suspicion of tyranny is enough motivation for Macduff to plan how to convert his country back to normal.

Macduff is the thane of fife, the foil to Macbeth, and the greatest patriot of Scotland during the play. He first appears in act one scene six, the King Duncan and the nobleman come to Macbeths castle. Macduff’s fellow noblemen marvel about the greatness of Macbeth’s castle, though Macduff stays silent throughout the scene. This is generally how Macduff acts; only speaking when spoken to, and not making unnecessary conversation. In act two scene three Macduff and Lennox come to wake the king and he is the one to make the discovery that the king has been murdered. He exclaims to Macbeth and Banquo what has happened, saying that the King is the Lord’s appointed temple. This is common in the time period

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,

This is in strong contrast to Malcolm and Duncan as both of these characters have nothing to hide and are not overwhelmed with guilt. Lastly, Malcolm and Duncan only kill those who are not noble and trustworthy. In conclusion, this shows that the actions of Macbeth, Duncan, and Malcolm are all different.

3) Macduff arrives to England to guide Malcolm back to Scotland in order to stop Macbeth. Malcolm believes that this is another trick to lure him back for Macbeth. To test Macduff’s allegiance, he questions as to why Macbeth would abandon his family unprotected and continues to list reasons why he would be worse than Macbeth. “ Nay, had I power, I should/Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell,/Uproar the universal peace,

He does things that he would never have thought of doing, such as killing Banquo and trying to kill Banquo’s son. And some other things that Macbeth is now doing are affecting all of Scotland, including Malcolm, King Duncan’s older son, and Macduff, a scottish noble that could replace Macbeth as king. When Malcolm is talking to Macduff he suggests that “I am not treacherous. But Macbeth is.” (4.3.21-22), they are talking about how corrupt Macbeth has become due to too much power. Then shortly after, Macbeth goes on a rampage and starts to kill scottish nobles and their family’s so that he can stay king and have his descendants become king after him. One of the family’s that he kills is Macduff’s. Then out of hatred and grief for his family Macduff meets Macbeth at Macbeth’s castle to kill him. Since Macbeth has gained this power as king, the effects of it make him do things that he wouldn’t normally do which leads to him having the feeling of self hatred, “With blood of thine already” (5.8.6) as he says to Macduff after he had killed his family. The effect of too much power leads Macbeth to do things that he wouldn’t have done and away from demonstrating what it means to be a

Another flaw of Macbeth’s readers can learn from was his internal conflict and jealousy of anyone who could possibly come in between him and crown. Macbeth was often threatened by other people who could possibly take the crown from him. The first time the reader can see this jealousy arise was when Macduff said, “Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter, Prince of Cumberland;” (1.4.38-39). Macbeth’s first reaction was to fear the whole family line of Macduff. This intimidation lead to one of Macbeth’s most careless destructive decision when he

Macduff is convinced that Macbeth killed King Duncan, so he leaves to England to see if Malcolm would join him in a battle against Macbeth with an intention to make Malcolm the King (127)

In Act 1 scene 4 page 11, Macbeth said, “Prince of Cumberland! That a step on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap.” This explains how he must become better than Malcolm because he was jealous of his new position as Prince of Cumberland.

Despite his fearless character in battle, Macbeth is concerned by the prophecies of the Witches, and his thoughts remain confused, both before, during, and after his murder of King Duncan. When Duncan announces that he intends the kingdom to pass to his son Malcolm, Macbeth appears frustrated. When he is about to commit the murder, he undergoes terrible pangs of conscience. Macbeth is at his most human and considerate when his masculinity is ridiculed and degraded by his wife. However, Macbeth has resolved himself into a far more stereotypical villain and asserts his manliness over that of his wife. His ambition now begins to spur him toward further horrible deeds, and he starts to disregard and even to challenge fate. Nevertheless, the newfound resolve causes Macbeth to move onward.

Although a great majority of the time, power corrupts decisions, it also can have a positive effect on choices. In the play Macbeth, one character who keeps in mind what is best for the people is Malcolm. As the son of King Duncan, Malcolm has virtuous morals and realizes that Macbeth is only in it for power instead of thinking of what is best for the people of Scotland. Malcolm makes a choice to fight back with the help of England. His choice to fight for power, although used violence against Macbeth, was a positive decision because he was thinking of the people and his father's legacy. His success is shown when he and Macduff defeat Macbeth and Malcolm is named the new king. He exclaims to his people, “[w]e shall not spend a large expense of time/ before we reckon with your several loves/ and make us even with you” (5.8.72-4). Only seconds after being named king, Malcolm is thinking of how he will reward his people. This proves

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

Macduff's intelligence leans towards irresponsibility when he abandons his family without realising the danger his actions will cause them. When Macduff goes to England for help in freeing Scotland from the tyrant Macbeth, and informs Malcolm of the terrible things that have been happening in Scotland, he says; "Let us rather / Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men / Bestride our down-fall'n birthdom" (4, 3, 2-4). There is a great sense of urgency in Macduff's words because his thoughts become obsessive with eliminating Scotland of its evil tyrant rather than focusing on his family. His suspicion grows after Macbeth’s killing of the guards and so he refuses to attend Macbeth’s coronation which leads to the murder of his family.