Macbeth Analysis Essay

Before Macbeth meets with Macduff, he thinks of ways to handle Macduff so he would no longer be a problem. Macduff was considered to be a problem because he left the kingdom in order to assist an opposing force. Macbeth states “Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee? But yet I’ll make assurance double sure, and take a bond of fate.” (Act IV scn i, ln 82-84) He wants to make sure Macduff will not be a problem; he wants to keep Macduff out of his way. In this scene Macbeth is attempting to discover ways to inforce his superiority through the phrase “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword his wife, his babies, and all unfortunate souls.” (Act IV scn i, ln 150-152) He hired men to kill Macduff’s family, so he will be depressed and will grieve; he wants to keep Macduff out of the way of him still being King. The main reason he did this, however, was to exert his leadership over Macduff and send a message. This paragraph explains how Macbeth was disloyal to Macduff and how he did anything to keep Macduff out of his way, but things did not turn out as he

Macduff is also a character that deals with guilt. He is guilty of leaving his entire family behind in Scotland which is eventually why they are killed. He uses this guilt to drive him to bring Macbeth down. If Macduff would have thought to bring his wife and children they wouldn't have died. This shows that every action has consequences and those consequences must be taken into consideration.

Macduff is the thane of fife, the foil to Macbeth, and the greatest patriot of Scotland during the play. He first appears in act one scene six, the King Duncan and the nobleman come to Macbeths castle. Macduff’s fellow noblemen marvel about the greatness of Macbeth’s castle, though Macduff stays silent throughout the scene. This is generally how Macduff acts; only speaking when spoken to, and not making unnecessary conversation. In act two scene three Macduff and Lennox come to wake the king and he is the one to make the discovery that the king has been murdered. He exclaims to Macbeth and Banquo what has happened, saying that the King is the Lord’s appointed temple. This is common in the time period

Macduff’s burning desire for revenge towards Macbeth was encouraged by many forces. As it is known, Macbeth murders Duncan which causes Malcolm to flee to England because he fears for his life. Following Duncan’s death, Macduff was the first to discover Duncan dead, and it can be inferred that he was so angry and mortified that it sparks apprehensiveness towards Macbeth’s acquiring the throne. As he realizes that he does not agree with Macbeth’s reign, he decides to leave his family behind in Fife to go to England to find Malcolm, the true heir to the throne. His plan is to conspire with Malcolm to build an army against Macbeth. Macduff was so loyal to Scotland and the true ruler that he was willing to abandon his family in the process of freeing Scotland from tyranny. As he meets with Malcolm, Ross delivers the news that

Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men / Bestride our down-fall’n birthdom” (IV.iii.4-5). Macduff’s request for Malcolm to march against Macbeth’s regime is the justification required for Macbeth to punish Macduff, including his family, thereby legitimizing their deaths. As such, without his mental faculties, under the impression of Macduff’s threatening nature by the witches and Macduff’s escape to aid Malcolm, Macduff

Macbeth realizes that the prophecy that the three witches told him is coming true, which blew his mind. Macduff fights for honor and Macbeth fights to kill and to stay alive even though he knows that he is destined to perish.

But yet I’ll make assurance double sure” (4, 1, 81-82) Macduff is still seen as an imminent threat to power. Respectively, Macbeth has more murderers set out, who successfully kill Macduff’s wife and babes. Enraged, the demand “Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; within my sword’s length set him" (4, 3, 236) is stated. Empowered by the words of the Apparitions, Macbeth believes his life cannot be taken by Macduff, and resultantly, the position of power continues to be heedlessly defended, distinctly portrayed by the quote from Macbeth, “Bring it after me.- I will not be afraid of death and bane” (5, 4, 60). Desperate to defend his pride and reputation, it is before his final moments in battle that it is declared “I will try the last. Before my body, I throw on my warlike shield.” (5, 8, 32-33). Macbeth’s mindless, overwhelming need for power ultimately leads to his

Many people who have read William Shakespeare’s Macbeth know that Macbeth is the tragic hero in the play, but there another character stands out as a much greater protagonist. Macbeth is the type of character who turned from a loyal warrior to the king into a violent, tyrannical, and conflicted person as he progressively commits crimes inside the kingdom without anyone’s notice, except for one person, who is Macduff. Macduff doesn’t have any flaws and remains sinless and heroic throughout the play. As Macbeth progressively gains power and prestige in exchange for the lives of his king, his friends, and his countrymen, Macduff meanwhile goes through great personal loss in his attempts to stop Macbeth’s tyrannical ruling and to restore justice and freedom to Scotland. It is ironic how Macduff acts so much more nobly than his king. Throughout the tragic events that have occurred in the play, Macduff serves as a heroic figure through his demonstrations of intelligence, loyalty, and righteousness.

Shortly after Macbeth hears the prophecies of him becoming the Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland, and after becoming the Thane of Cawdor a few moments later, he writes a letter to Lady Macbeth about what he is thinking, which at the time is how he wants to do away with King Duncan. "… the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements. Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe tap-full of direst cruelty (I. v. 40-44)." Lady Macbeth says to herself after hearing of Duncans arrival to Inverness. Lady Macbeth then wants to have the strength to kill him by making her strong like a man. Later on, when Macduff flees to England to find Malcolm to raise an army to take back the throne of Scotland from a tyrant, Macduff says to Malcolm after Malcolm says he is very greedy and unfit to be king; "Scotland has enough treasures to satisfy you out of your own royal coffers (IV. iii. 90-91)." Macduff tries to win over Malcolm by tempting him to come back. Furthermore, he then tries to convince him to fight Macbeth because of his love for Scotland and his ambition to take back the crown.

Macbeth and Macduff rely on each other as opposing forces in the play but cannot coexist because of the parallels between them.

Shakespeare uses vivid and powerful forms of imagery to let the audience visualize the setting. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a strong woman who is attracted to power and would do anything to be in control; she is anything but an elegant and sensitive woman. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls an easy prey to insanity and guilt. Her soliloquy (5.1.24-30) shows her decline into madness when she says,“out damned spot...”

Only after learning that Macduff has fulfilled the last of the witches' prophecies does Macbeth's ambition again change to passivity and unwillingness.  Macduff's taunt ("Then yield thee, coward" (V, viii, 23) is the only thing that arouses the last of Macbeth's ambition before he agrees to fight to the death:  "I will not yield,/To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet,/And to be baited with the rabble's curse" (27-29).

Macbeth retreats to England to find Malcolm to convince him to form an army to fight against Macbeth to take back Scotland. Macduff tries to persuade Malcolm to fight back against Macduff yells “not in the legions/ of horrid hell can come a devil more damned / in evils to top Macbeth” (Shakespeare 4.3.67-69). Malcolm test Macduff to see if he is still loyal to him or If Macduff is loyal to Macbeth by telling him how awful of a king we would be. Macduff responds by saying nobody could be worse than Macbeth, so fight to take your country back. Macduff learns the plan of Malcolm as he trust he is still loyal to him, but before he can celebrate he finds out that his family had been murdered by Macbeth. Macduff decides by handling the situation by saying, “I shall do so,/but i must also feel it as a man” (Shakespeare 4.3.260-261). Macduff fights against Macbeth to win back Scotland, even though Macduff’s family is gone for disrespecting Macbeth. He handles the situation like a man by fighting back but he's still is going to be upset that he lost his family. Macduff teams up with Malcolm and wins back Scotland, Macduff's selfless ambitions ends up to save the

Macbeth is the main character in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Macbeth was born into low ranking nobility and rose to fame as a general. He did so well in the military that he became the Thane of Glacis, which was later to be followed by the

Macduff, the focus turns to Macbeth’s relationship with Macduff, in line 69 of Act 4 scene 1, the witch’s visions show Macbeth Macduff’s face. Act 4.2.150-151 is when Macbeth decides to kill Macduff’s family whilst Macduff is in England rallying up an English army. In 4.3. Macduff speaks to Malcolm about Macbeth/King of Scotland. In act 5.8 Macduff slays Macbeth and is thus the hero of the play.