Macduff

• Macduff


  • Symbolises ultimate loyalty
  • Static character with unwavering loyalty to King Duncan and rightful heirs to the throne
  • Becomes a focal point for Macbeth's rage and desire to protect his throne
  • Family is murdered by Macbeth's assassins, leading to Macduff seeking revenge and eventually killing Macbeth to instill Malcolm as the rightful heir
• Macduff


  • Opposite character to Macbeth, serving as a foil to each other
  • Symbolizes the fight between good and evil
  • May have Biblical symbolism representing sin being defeated and order restored
• Defeating Macbeth


  Macduff's destiny as prophesied by the Witches and suspected by Macduff from the start
• Macduff


  • Has the opposite definition of manhood to Macbeth, embracing emotion and displaying selfless bravery for a justified cause
  • Confident in facing Macbeth with righteousness on his side, exposing Macbeth's cowardice
  • Bravery is pure and honourable, succeeding in killing Macbeth in battle
• Macduff's reaction to Duncan's death

  1. Long hyperbolic speech using religious language to show belief in the 'Divine Right of Kings'

  2. Uses metaphorical language to describe Duncan's death, recognizing him as the true, divinely ordained ruler
• Body referred to as a “temple”


  To reinforce the holiness of Duncan’s reign
• Divinely ordained king


  Recognised as the true king anointed by God
• Murder of Duncan is considered an unforgivable sin against God
• In the Jacobean era

  It was believed that God picked who was to be king
• Changing the king was considered a sin against God’s will


  Similar to the Biblical fall of man in the Garden of Eden
• Consequences of the murder

  Greater consequences for Scotland, akin to judgment day
• Death of the king


  Comparable to the end of the world, disturbance of the natural order leading to chaos
• Macduff differs from other male characters by exhibiting emotional behavior, considered feminine at the time
• Macduff’s violence comes from love for his country and family, demonstrated through emotional reactions
• Macduff believes Macbeth must have "no children" to explain his actions
• Macduff's disbelief is shown through rhetorical questions and repetition, contrasting with Macbeth's selfish ambition
• Macduff adores Scotland and feels the need to save it from Macbeth’s tyranny
• Macbeth’s reign brings chaos to Scotland


  Macduff sets about creating an opposition to Macbeth
• Macduff recognises that Macbeth’s reign brings chaos to Scotland


  He sets about creating an opposition to Macbeth
• Macduff uses the motif of personifying Scotland: 'Macbeth is causing Scotland to “bleed bleed poor country”'
• Great Chain of Being


  A hierarchical social structure which dictated who had authority over who
• Shakespeare evidences Macduff’s care for all of Scotland

  Through the use of parallelism as “new widows howl, new orphans cry”
• Macduff left his own wife and children to try and save the women and children of the whole country


  Contrasts Macbeth as Macduff acts for the good of others, not himself
• Macduff’s allegiance is to Scotland


  Contrasts with Macbeth whose allegiance is to himself and his wife
• Macduff is introduced to the audience in 1.6
• Macduff discovers Duncan’s death in 2.3
• Macbeth receives warning from an apparition about Macduff in 4.1
• Macduff’s family is killed by Macbeth in 4.2
• Malcom suspects Macduff may be working for Macbeth in 4.3
• Malcom's test on Macduff

  Talking to Macduff about why he wouldn’t be fit to be the King of Scotland, Macduff initially disagrees politely but eventually agrees, proving his allegiance to Scotland and as an ally to Malcolm
• Malcolm and Macduff


  Both hold an immense amount of loyalty and patriotism towards their country, leading to Macbeth’s removal from the throne. Malcom tests Macduff’s loyalty in the play, which Macduff succeeds in, proving to the audience that Macduff is a character to be trusted
• Macbeth and Macduff


  Macduff is eventually the character who kills Macbeth in the play
• Ross and Macduff


  Ross is part of the army which eventually overthrows Macbeth and is a Thane. He is the one who tells Macduff that Macbeth has murdered his family. Ross serves as a character who delivers news both to the characters and audience in the play, and Macduff is part of this deliverance
• King Duncan and Macduff


  Macduff shows great loyalty to King Duncan and is the character who finds him dead after Macbeth murders him
• Macduff: '“lest our old robes sit easier than our new”'
• 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. This is done 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. This killing from emotion is perceived as more acceptable by the audience. It reveals the ambivalence and double sense of the witches’ prophecies and forces Macbeth to realise his mistake in trusting them. Macduff 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
• Shakespeare reveals Macduff’s bleak perception of a future Scotland under Macbeth as he uses the extended metaphor of predicting Scotland will change for the worse
• Macbeth: 'dead after Macbeth murders him'
• Macduff: '“​lest our old robes sit easier than our new​”'