macduff

Question 1

‘characterisation of macduff

Question 2

‘o horror, horror, horror! tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!’ [A2S3]

Answer 2

repetition: ‘horror, horror, horror’
↳ emphasises how much the disruption of the divine right of kings affects everyone
↳ macduff’s loyalty to the king is causing him to fall into dismay, he is meant to show a face of strength and certaincy in front of others but he is deeply affected (macduff’s job was to wake the king, shows how valuable he was)

alliteration: ‘cannot conceive…nor name’
↳ adds to the rushed and visceral nature of the line, deepens distress

triadic structure: ‘horror, horror…’
↳ mirrors the witches chanting, shows that the witches’ chaos begin to permiate the castle
↳ three was seen as an unlucky number in the jacobean era -> would frighten the audience

exclamative:
↳ emphasises the emotion of the situation

Question 3

‘most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope the Lord’s anointed temple, and stole thence the life o’ the building!’ [A2S3]

Answer 3

religious reference: ‘sacrilegious’
↳ violation of divine right of king, opposes God’s will

metaphor:
↳ acts a euphemism and emphasises macduff’s shock
↳ duncan’s body is referred to as a temple anointed to by God

powerful verbs: ‘stole’, ‘broke’
↳ emphasises how incorrect the act is, macbeth has stolen duncan’s God given title as king & his right to live
↳ broke also signifies something unconstitutional

Question 4

‘bleed, bleed, poor country’ [A4S3]

Answer 4

personification: ‘bleed, poor country’
↳ describes the country as a injured, weak thing, which shows how macduff’s care for scotland is even stronger than his need to protect his family, macduff is everlastingly loyal to the nation and is therefore the FOIL of macbeth, who refuses to be loyal to the nation & monarchy

Question 5

‘child of integrity’…‘devilish macbeth’ [A4S3 - said by malcom]

Answer 5

metaphor: ‘child of integrity’
↳ a metaphor of innocence and goodness, child is the most pure form of innocence, macduff’s passion for scotland is clearly something that malcolm feels should be protected and not destroyed

juxtaposition: ‘integrity’ vs ‘devilish’
↳ macbeth is described as devilish, in the jacobean era this would be unheard of and would make the audience completely resent macbeth

religious imagery: ‘devilish’
↳ just as lucifer was a fallen angel who became the devil, macbeth was once a noble warrior who became comparable to the devil

Question 6

‘all my pretty ones?’ [A4S3]

Answer 6

rhetorical question:
↳ disbelief & distress

adjective: ‘pretty’
↳ almost feminine description, macduff subverts gender norms by showing emotion

Question 7

‘dispute it like a man
…but I must also feel it as a man’ [A4S3]

Answer 7

‘feel it’
↳ undermines or questions our typical understanding of gender and gender, shows care for family

Question 8

‘sinful macduff’ [A4S3]

Answer 8

macduff blames himself for his families death & shows responsibility for his actions, unlike macbeth (FOIL)