P4 - Fully Power Driven

• In the exposition, Shakespeare makes sure to portray Macbeth as ambitious to a certain extent, because his ambitions are hindered by fear. But by Act 4, Macbeth is fully driven by power and the tragic waste is evident. His hubris is his most dominant feature - he believes he is immune to fate and higher powers. However there seems to be no end to Macbeth’s murders because there will always be potential threats to his throne
• His ever growing ambition is what drives him to revisit the Witches. Once again, he receives more equivocating prophecies. Once again, he is left to interpret these on his own. And once again, he fails to understand that he is too far in to avoid a fate that is anything but tragic. Since he is told to “beware Macduff'' his first instinct is to order the death of Macduff’s family.
• In Act 4, Scene 3 Macduff explains the horrors of Macbeth’s reign to Malcolm as he states “Bleed, bleed poor country!”. Scotland is personified as a person with a wounded body, reflecting the damage that Macbeth has inflicted upon the nation. This part of the play has some dramatic irony; Macduff is suspicious of Macbeth but decides not to act against him. But shortly after he is made aware of the brutal murder of his family, he changes his mind and decides to seek vengeance
• Macduff represents divine retribution - his character’s role is to reverse the damaging effects of Macbeth’s unchecked ambition. Macduff is also an ambitious character, but his ambitions are the direct antithesis of Macbeth’s - his desire is to fight for the future of Scotland, freeing it from Macbeth’s tyrannical rule.