Good/Macduff Flashcards
“turn hell hound, turn”,
His bravery is selfless and out of a love for his country; violence is for a justified cause (not murder) and it is only proportional to what is needed. He is confident in facing Macbeth, as he calls to him “turn hell hound, turn”, demonstrating that he is not afraid to fight Macbeth, as Macduff has righteousness on his side. His true bravery exposes Macbeth’s cowardice.
“man of woman born”
Macbeth’s confidence and bravery comes from hubris (excessive pride), due to the witches’ prophecies that state only a “man of woman born” could defeat him. Thus, it is clear that Macbeth has been a coward since Act 1: he killed Duncan in his sleep, he killed Banquo with murderers. Macduff’s bravery is pure and honourable and therefore succeeds in killing Macbeth in battle.
“new widows howl, new orphans cry”
Shakespeare portrays Macduff as a man who adores Scotland and feels as though he must save it from the tyranny of Macbeth’s rule. He is the one to recognise that Macbeth’s reign brings chaos to Scotland and sets about creating an opposition to Macbeth. Shakespeare evidences Macduff’s care for all of Scotland through the use of parallelism as “new widows howl, new orphans cry” demonstrates that Macduff is considering the detrimental effects of Macbeth’s reign, holistically (as a whole). Hence he left his own wife and children to try and save the women and children of the whole country. This contrasts Macbeth, as Macduff acts for the good of others, not the good of himself. While Macbeth’s allegiance is to himself and his wife, Macduff’s is to Scotland.
“bleed bleed poor country”
“tyrant” “hellhound” “bloodier villain”
In this scene, Shakespeare utilises the character of Macduff to restore order to the play, by ensuring that it is Macduff who brings an end to the tyrannous reign of Macbeth, rather than Malcolm. Arguably, Shakespeare does this so that Malcolm’s reign isn’t tainted by violence and he is able to maintain his own purity. Macduff has the strongest reason to kill Macbeth: revenge. Therefore, this killing from emotion is perceived as more acceptable by the audience. This reveals the ambivalence and double sense of the witches’ prophecies and forces Macbeth to realise his mistake in trusting them. He was warned of Macduff all along but chose to interpret the prophecies to suit his own ambitions. It is only then that Macbeth realises the witches were “juggling fiends” and recognise the truth in a classical moment of anagnorisis (the point in a play, where a principal character recognises or discovers another character’s true identity). Macduff, therefore, is symbolic of a bringer of truth and he calls Macbeth what he is – “tyrant” “hellhound” “bloodier villain”. He brings truth to the deception that has been Macbeth’s reign, exposing him for what he is and purges Scotland of its illness: “bleed bleed poor country”; the blood that must be bled is Macbeth’s.
“he is noble, wise, judicious”
Here, Ross is defending Macduff, and the audience are provided with an initial
view of Macduff as a trustworthy and calculating leader.
