Edexcel IGCSE English Literature

Macbeth: Character Profile

Macduff

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Macduff
SYMBOLISES ULTIMATE LOYALTY

INTRODUCTION

Macduff is, essentially, a minor character. However, he is, arguably, the most prominent minor
character in the play. Macduff is a static character, in that his loyalty to King
Duncan, and righteous heirs to the throne, is unwavering. He immediately distrusts Macbeth and
refuses to attend his coronation. Ultimately, Macduff becomes a focal point for Macbeth’s rage and
desire to protect his throne. Macduff’s family is murdered by Macbeth’s assassins, after Macduff flees
to England to seek help from the king. Revenge drives Macbeth to eventually kill Macbeth and instill
Malcolm, the rightful heir to the throne.

SYMBOLISM

Macduff is, in every way, the opposite to the character of Macbeth and therefore they are the foil
of each other. It is important to consider why Shakespeare portrays Macduff as in stark contrast to that of
the character of Macbeth. These two characters extend to the symbols of the fight between good and
evil. Arguably, these characters may also have a Biblical symbolism – a representation of sin being
defeated and order restored.

➔ Defeating Macbeth is Macbeth’s destiny, as Macduff suspected him from the start and the
Witches prophesied that a “man of woman born” would defeat him.
➔ He has the opposite definition of manhood to Macbeth, as Macduff doesn’t resist
emotion but embraces it.
➔ His bravery is selfless and out of a love for his country; violence is for a justified cause (not
murder) and it is only proportional to what is needed. He is confident in facing Macbeth, as he
calls to him “turn hell hound, turn”, demonstrating that he is not afraid to fight Macbeth, as
Macduff has righteousness on his side. His true bravery exposes Macbeth’s cowardice.
➔ Macbeth’s confidence and bravery comes from hubris (excessive pride), due to the
witches’ prophecies that state only a “man of woman born” could defeat him. Thus, it is clear
that Macbeth has been a coward since Act 1: he killed Duncan in his sleep, he killed Banquo
with murderers. Macduff’s bravery is pure and honourable and therefore succeeds in killing
Macbeth in battle.
CHARACTER IN CONTEXT

Religious Context
Macduff’s reaction to Duncan’s death is a long hyperbolic
speech, where he uses religious language to show his belief in
the ‘Divine Right of Kings’. This shows Macduff to be adhering
to the religious, moralistic thoughts of the historical period.

Macduff uses metaphorical language to describe Duncan’s

death: “most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope the lord’s
anointed temple”. His body is referred to as a “temple” in order
to reinforce the holiness of Duncan’s reign. He recognises Duncan as
the true, divinely ordained, king; the “Lord’s temple” and thus
God’s earthly deputy. Kings are anointed with holy oil at their
coronation to signify this.
➔ Hence the murder is not just a crime (murder), it is an
unforgivable sin against God, which is “sacrilegious” and
unholy - tantamount (equivalent) to the murder of God
himself.

In the Jacobean era it was believed that God picked who was to be king, therefore to try and change
who was king was a sin as you were going directly against God’s will. This is similar to the Biblical
fall of man in the Garden of Eden, as Adam disobeyed God’s orders. Macduff emphasises this belief
that the king is divinely ordained and is therefore loyal to him. He associated Duncan with piety
and virtue as he is aligned with God.
➔ He also recognises that the murder will have greater consequences for Scotland as he
states “see the great doom’s image”, which is a reference to judgment day. This suggests
that he sees the death of the king as comparable to the end of the world – complete loyalty
and devotion, or that perhaps, ending a divine bloodline’s right to the throne would enrage
God. The natural order has been disturbed and thus chaos will ensue, like at the end of the
world.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

● Sensitive: Macduff differs from the other male characters in the play; he publically exhibits
emotional behaviour, something which was considered a femenine trait at the
 time. Macduff’s violence is not dangerous like Macbeth’s as it comes from love for his country
and family; it is “grief convert to anger”. This is demonstrated through the very emotional
reaction to the death of his family.
○ Macduff believes that Macbeth must have “no children” to explain how he can live
with a guilty conscience of killing Macduff’s children. This also means that
there is no way for Macbeth to receive retribution, as Maduff has no way to
deliver a pain equal to having his own children killed. Nothing Macduff can do will
truly pay for this pain – not even killing Macbeth; losing family is a greater pain than
death.
○ Macduff’s disbelief is evidenced through Shakespeare’s use of many rhetorical
questions and the repetition of questions he has already asked: “all my pretty
ones?” “my children too?” “my wife kill’d too?”. These reveal his
flabbergasted state as he cannot imagine that someone could even do that. This
contrasts to Macbeth, as his selfish ambition is put before all else, including emotional
sensitivity and morals.

● Patriotic: Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a man who adores Scotland and feels as though
he must save it from the tyranny of Macbeth’s rule. He is the one to recognise that Macbeth’s
reign brings chaos to Scotland and sets about creating an opposition to Macbeth.
○ Macduff uses the motif of personifying Scotland, as Macbeth is causing
Scotland to “bleed bleed poor country”. Shakespeare uses this technique in order
to symbolise how Scotland is dying because the ‘Great Chain of Being’ has been
subverted.
■ The ‘Great Chain of Being’ is a
hierarchical social structure,
which dictated who had authority
over who (the King was at the top of the
hierarchy, just under God).
○ Shakespeare evidences Macduff’s care for all of
Scotland through the use of parallelism as
“new widows howl, new orphans cry”
demonstrates that Macduff is considering the
detrimental effects of Macbeth’s reign,
holistically (as a whole). Hence he left his
own wife and children to try and save the
women and children of the whole country. This
contrasts Macbeth, as Macduff acts for the good
of others, not the good of himself. While
Macbeth’s allegiance is to himself and his wife,
Macduff’s is to
Scotland.
KEY MOMENTS

SC OCCURRENCE SIGNIFICANCE

1.6 Macduff is Macduff is introduced to the audience amongst a series of other

introduced to the characters, and doesn’t speak in this scene. By introducing him in a scene
audience. where he has no lines, the audience do not suspect that by the end of the
play, he will be a character which enacts revenge on Macbeth and a
character which will hold a great deal of power.

2.3 Macduff discovers Macduff’s complete loyalty to Duncan and adherence to the ‘Divine
Duncan’s death. Right of Kings’ is demonstrated through a very emotional reaction
to the death and Shakespeare’s use of the group of three “O horror,
horror, horror” revealing Macduff’s distress and also his honour.
Shakespeare employs repetition to emphasise the strength of this
emotion. Macduff adopts the role of the judge in this play – he knows
Macbeth is in the wrong. He will act on God’s behalf (in the absence of
Duncan) to bring justice upon Macbeth. Judgment day for Macbeth
– his actions will result in eternal damnation.

4.1 Macbeth receives Though Macduff doesn’t appear in this scene, the Witches conjure an
warning from an apparition which warns Macbeth that he should “beware Macduff, beware
apparition (conjured the Thane of Fife”. This works to set Macduff up as Macbeth’s foil, as he
by the Witches) that becomes suspicious of what Macduff could do to him.
he should be wary of
Macduff.

4.2 Macduff’s family is This is the ultimate ‘trigger’ for Macduff: he has left his family in the
killed by Macbeth 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. This provides Macduff
with even more rationale to enact his revenge on Macbeth.

4.3 Malcom suspects that Malcom’s test involves talking to Macduff about why he wouldn’t be fit
Macduff may be to be the King of Scotland, and though Macduff initially disagrees
working for Macbeth politely, he eventually agrees, proving his allegiance to Scotland and as an
so tests him to see if he ally to Malcolm. This shows him as both a truthful and
is trustworthy. He also loyal character.
finds out that his
family has been killed
in this scene, and
promises
 revenge on Macbeth
for this.

5.8 Macduff kills In this scene, Shakespeare utilises the character of Macduff to restore
Macbeth order to the play, by ensuring that it is Macduff who brings an end to the
tyrannous reign of Macbeth, rather than Malcolm. Arguably,
Shakespeare does this 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.
Therefore, this killing from emotion is perceived as more acceptable by
the audience. This reveals the ambivalence and double sense of the
witches’ prophecies and forces Macbeth to realise his mistake in
trusting them. He was warned of Macduff all along but chose to
interpret the prophecies to suit his own ambitions. It is only
then that Macbeth realises the witches were “juggling fiends” and
recognise the truth in a classical moment of anagnorisis (the point in a
play, where a principal character recognises or discovers another
character's true identity). Macduff, therefore, 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.

RELATIONSHIPS

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.

EXAM TIP!
You will develop your AO2 for characterisation, if you are able to include
a direct comparison between the characters of Macbeth and Macduff.

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.

KEY QUOTES

“lest our old robes sit easier than our new”

● Here, 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.
○ He suggests there will be chaos and a divergence from the peace of the
past

Macduff opposes Macbeth’s rule: “fit to govern? No not to live!”

● Through Shakespeare’s use of rhetorical question and hypophora (a
question is raised and immediately answered) emphasise Macduff’s strong hatred
of tyranny and complete loyalty to Scotland.
○ He resents tyranny and this is clear through his immediate attempts to oppose
Macbeth with an army from England. In the scene 4.3, Malcolm tests
Macduff to see if he is in fact a man of principal. It is when Malcolm
changes from character flaws (like greed and lust) to the disruption of
Scotland’s order that Macduff rejects him. This is evident as Malcolm suggests
that “I should pour the sweet milk of concord into hell”.

“thy hope ends here”

● This demonstrates Macduff’s pessimistic outlook – he would not be able to live in
happiness if Scotland was ruled by a tyrant.
● Malcolm also tests Macduff and proves him not to be naïve; he will not accept
something that wouldn’t be good for the country as he shows great emotion towards
the well-being of the country.
“he is noble, wise, judicious”.
● Here, Ross is defending Macduff, and the audience are provided with an initial view
of Macduff as a trustworthy and calculating leader.

“Cruel are the times when we are traitor and do not know ourselves”
● Macduff is only doing what he thinks is best for Scotland in not being a traitor to
Scotland, but he is a traitor to his family as he could only save one.
○ In doing this, Macduff becomes the complete foil to Macbeth, who
conversely obeys his wife and is a traitor to his country.

“Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope the lord’s anointed temple”
● Shakespeare uses this metaphorical language, in stating that Duncan’s body was a
“temple”, in order to reinforce the holiness of Duncan’s reign.
○ He recognises Duncan as the true, divinely ordained, king.
○ This demonstrates Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland, in addition to his
intensely patriotic nature.

"new widows howl new orphans cry".

● Macduff kills Macbeth after the murder of his wife and children, as he is fighting for
his family, but also for all the women and children in Scotland, which is evidenced
through the Shakespeare’s use of zoomorphism.
○ The verb “howl” cultivates a greater sense of sympathy for these
orphans - like abandoned puppies.

EXAM TIP!
When analysing language techniques, ensure you refer to “Shakespeare” explicitly.
This shows the examiner that you are considering his methods directly.