Macduff

• Macduff


  • Symbolises ultimate loyalty
  • Minor character but most prominent minor character in the play
  • Static character - his loyalty to King Duncan and righteous heirs to the throne is unwavering
  • Immediately distrusts Macbeth and refuses to attend his coronation
  • Becomes a focal point for Macbeth's rage and desire to protect his throne
• Defeating Macbeth is Macduff's destiny, as the Witches prophesied that a "man of woman born" would defeat him
• Macduff's definition of manhood

  Opposite to Macbeth - he doesn't resist emotion but embraces it
• Macduff's bravery


  • Selfless and out of love for his country
  • Violence is for a justified cause and only proportional to what is needed
  • Confident in facing Macbeth, calls him "turn hell hound, turn"
  • Exposes Macbeth's cowardice
• Macbeth's confidence and bravery


  Comes from hubris (excessive pride) due to the witches' prophecies
• Macduff's bravery is pure and honourable, succeeding in killing Macbeth in battle
• Religious context - Divine Right of Kings

  • Macduff's reaction to Duncan's death uses religious language to show his belief in the Divine Right of Kings
  • Refers to Duncan's body as a "temple" to reinforce the holiness of his reign
  • Recognises Duncan as the true, divinely ordained king
• In the Jacobean era, it was believed that God picked who was to be king, so trying to change the king was a sin
• Macduff's association of Duncan with piety and virtue


  As Duncan is aligned with God
• Macduff's view of the consequences of Duncan's murder


  Sees it as comparable to the end of the world - the natural order has been disturbed and chaos will ensue
• Macduff's characteristics


  • Sensitive - exhibits emotional behaviour, which was considered feminine at the time
  • Patriotic - recognises that Macbeth's reign brings chaos to Scotland and sets about creating an opposition to Macbeth
• Macduff's care for all of Scotland is evidenced through the use of parallelism - "new widows howl, new orphans cry"
• Macduff


  • He will be a character which enacts revenge on Macbeth
  • He will hold a great deal of power
• Macduff discovers Duncan's death

  1. Macduff's complete loyalty to Duncan and adherence to the 'Divine Right of Kings' is demonstrated through a very emotional reaction to the death

  2. Shakespeare uses repetition to emphasise the strength of this emotion

  3. Macduff adopts the role of the judge in this play - he knows Macbeth is in the wrong

  4. He will act on God's behalf (in the absence of Duncan) to bring justice upon Macbeth

  5. Judgment day for Macbeth - his actions will result in eternal damnation
• Macbeth receives warning from an apparition (conjured by the Witches) that he should be wary of Macduff


  This works to set Macduff up as Macbeth's foil, as he becomes suspicious of what Macduff could do to him
• Macduff's family is killed by Macbeth


  1. This is the ultimate 'trigger' for Macduff: he has left his family in the country he loves in order to help rid his country of Macbeth - this shows the choice he has made between his family and his country, which causes the death of his loved ones

  2. This provides Macduff with even more rationale to enact his revenge on Macbeth
• Malcolm suspects that Macduff may be working for Macbeth so tests him to see if he is trustworthy


  1. Malcolm's test involves talking to Macduff about why he wouldn't be fit to be the King of Scotland, and though Macduff initially disagrees politely, he eventually agrees, proving his allegiance to Scotland and as an ally to Malcolm

  2. This shows him as both a truthful and loyal character
• Macduff kills Macbeth


  1. 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

  2. Macduff has the strongest reason to kill Macbeth: revenge

  3. This killing from emotion is perceived as more acceptable by the audience

  4. This reveals the ambivalence and double sense of the witches' prophecies and forces Macbeth to realise his mistake in trusting them

  5. Macduff is symbolic of a bringer of truth and he calls Macbeth what he is - "tyrant" "hellhound" "bloodier villain"

  6. He brings truth to the deception that has been Macbeth's reign, exposing him for what he is and purges Scotland of its illness
• Malcolm


  • Both Malcom and Macduff hold an immense amount of loyalty and patriotism towards their country, and this is crucial as it leads to Macbeth's removal from the throne
  • Malcom tests Macduff's loyalty in the play, which Macduff succeeds in and hence proves to the audience that Macduff is a character to be trusted
• Macbeth


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


  • 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
  • He 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


  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"'
• Macduff: '"fit to govern? No not to live!"'
• Ross: '"he is noble, wise, judicious"'
• Macduff: '"Cruel are the times when we are traitor and do not know ourselves"'
• Macduff: '"Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope the lord's anointed temple"'
• Macduff: '"new widows howl new orphans cry"'