Macduff

• [VIOLENCE] "I have no word; my voice is my sword" ↝ [a5s6]

  • Emphasises Macduff's heroic qualities & draws on a key idiom - actions speak louder than words.
  • Macbeth's ungodly actions are not worthy of words anymore, Macduff believes that order can only be restored while terminating Macbeth's tyranny
• [VIOLENCE] "Fit to govern? No, not to live!" ↝ [a4s3]

  • Through the use of hypophora, Shakespeare emphasises Macduff's strong hatred of tyranny & complete loyalty to Scotland
  • Implies that Macduff believes that being an inadequate, corrupt king is a crime worthy of death
• [VIOLENCE] "Let's make us medicines of our great revenge// To cure this deadly grief" ↝ [a4s3]

  • 'Medicines' & 'revenge' are alike in their outcome - solving or curing something. Macduff uses this idea, as the only way to help solve his insurmountable grief is to make Macbeths accountable for his sins. Thus, his violence is justified & he still remains the archetype of the avenging hero - motivated by revenge for a just cause.
• [AMBITION] "Here you may see the tyrant" ↝ [a5s8]

  • Macduff is the first character to explicitly band Macbeth as a tyrant - this is his motivation & has ignited his ambition to extinguish Macbeth.
  • This is the last things Macbeth hears before dying. Instead of receiving praise & being described as 'brave' or 'valiant', Macbeth has been labelled as the complete inverse, he has been ridiculed as a tyrant. This poignancy of Macduff's words shine through, signifying an end to Macbeth's destruction & the beginning of the restoration of order.
• [AVR] "Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope the Lord's appointed temple" ↝ [a2s3]

  • Macduff is presented as a loyal & patriotic thane who subconsciously recognises the great disturbance Macbeth has caused in the natural order. His hyperbolic language as reaction reinforces this and how he abides strictly to the religious moral code.
  • 'temple' - biblical metaphor - Jesus often describes himself as 'the temple', particularly before he was crucified & when he was referring to his own death & resurrection - reinforced holiness of Duncan's reign & presents him as the true, divinely ordained king.