Macduff's Masculinity In Macbeth

621 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Macbeths masculinity in macbeth

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, “Fair is foul, foul is fair”, sets the paradoxical tone of the play (I.I.12). The paradox between loyalty and cowardice dissimulates the true nature of masculinity in the play. Macduff proves his masculinity during Malcom’s test of loyalty to state rather than the tyranny of Macbeth. Though he is not the protagonist, Macduff’s integral role in the murder of Macbeth proves his sense of ambition in the play. Despite Macduff's responsibility for his family's murder, his loyalty to both family and country conveys his valiant nature.

Macduff’s positive attributes are evident throughout the play as many characters recognize his quality character, “noble, wise, judicious” (IV.II.16). Macduff’s inclination to protect and …show more content…

Macduff displays different aspects of what a man is, by feeling grief as a man and mourning the loss of his loved ones. The lack of traditional gender roles in the play affect the male characters and their manhood. Macbeth is constantly emasculated by Lady Macbeth to be the stereotypical traits of a man, strong and not-emotional, which leads him to his eventual downward spiral. Whereas Macduff dismisses the stereotypes of a man, and realizes for him to be effective in battle, he needs time to grieve the loss of his family. Despite his unknown motives for leaving, Macduff’s honest and respectable character proves the loyalty and love he feels to his family.

Even though others question Macduff’s responsibility for his family’s murder, "Why in that rawness left you wife and child”, he ultimately left them out of love for both family and country. Macduff’s persistent desire to defeat Macbeth determines his loyalty to country, rather than to the tyrant Macbeth. From the beginning, Macduff has valued country over leader, so when Duncan is murdered, and Macbeth will be coronated, “Will you go to scone/No, cousin, I’ll to Fife” (2.4.35-36). Macduff doesn’t attend the coronation because he is suspicious of Macbeth and his possible involvement in Duncan’s

Show More
Related

  • Free Macbeth Essays: The Essential Macduff

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Essential Macduff in Macbeth   & nbsp; Like in all (or most) Shakespeare plays, there is always a hero that overcomes evil supernatural forces. Macduff is an essential character in this play. His loyalty and patriotism to his dear country, Scotland, is more exceeding unlike the likes of the other Scottish nobles, Macduff was devastated by the murder of his dear king, and he also somewhat sacrifices his family for his country. These three transactions add up to one hell of an admirable hero. Conflict of forces is reflected in the character of Macduff.

    Read More

  • Free Macbeth Essay: Macduff as Hero

    405 Words  | 1 Pages

    Madduff is a man of action rather than a man of words. There are several occasions where Macduff acts on his thoughts rather than sitting down and talking about it showing his courage, passion and bravery. Macduff left his family whom he loves dearly, and fled without words to England. "My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain than terms can give thee out!," Macduff yells his savage rage, and beheads Macbeth in the final wager of battle. Macduff is truly the hero in this magnificent piece by Shakespeare as he takes the head of Macbeth for Scotland.

    Read More

  • Macduff Foil In Macbeth

    1742 Words  | 4 Pages

    One such character in “Macbeth” is Macduff, the Thane of Fife. Within the play, Macduff is the foil ; a character that exemplifies the contrasting characteristics of another character, who is Macbeth in this play. In stark contrast to Macbeth, Macduff resolves to restore peace and order in Scotland, which Macbeth has disrupted. After King Duncan's unfortunate demise and the coincidental murder of Scotland's Commander and Macbeth's dear friend, Banquo, Macduff suspects that Macbeth is not the “innocent flower”(1.5.56-57) he pretends to be. Macduff finds himself on the course to England, where Malcolm, the rightful heir to the throne, has found refuge. He wishes that Malcolm would reclaim the throne as the legitimate heir, which shows his allegiance to the royal family. Instead of grasping the throne for himself, he decides to endanger his family to restore the lawful king. When he was informed of the assassination of his kin, he was able to express his grief, like a true man. In this line Macduff mourns for the loss of his family, “...All my pretty ones/ Did you say "all"? O hell-kite! All? / What, all my pretty chickens and their dam/ At one fell swoop?”(4.3.255-258). Here, Macduff's immense capacity to sacrifice for the common good of his people is shown. Consequently, the following lines display his course of actions at the

    Read More

  • Manhood in The Tragedy of Macbeth

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, he uses the theme of manhood to create motives for characters to act like a man. This is seen in many occurrences in Macbeth where characters try to act like men for certain reasons. Characters that apply this action are Macbeth, the first murderer, Macduff, and Young Siward. These actions are seen throughout the play, and play a key role in the development of the performance.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Literary Critic Essay

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is more, the one thing that Macbeth does that encompasses every aspect of a tragic hero is fighting Macduff and knowing he is going to lose. Macduff is a man much like Macbeth, and arguably the man Macbeth would have become had he not been tempted into such awful actions. Besides that though, Macduff is the man that Macbeth wronged the most. Macbeth killed his family, his wife and children, and that is more pain than any one person should ever have to bear. So who better to slay Macbeth than the man who really deserves the vengeance. Macbeth goes into battle with Macduff not only because it is his nature, as mentioned previously, but because Macbeth owes it to him. It is Macbeth’s way of making things right, this is Macbeth’s apology and that is tragic, heroic, and most importantly an act of a true tragic hero.

    Read More

  • What Are The Characters In The Tragedy Of Macbeth

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    Macduff and Malcolm turn against Macbeth because they recognize his evil behavior and believe they can bring Scotland to a peaceful state. Actions driven by the thoughts and feelings lead to the deaths of Duncan, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth. In Macbeth, characters’ downfalls are caused by actions they take based on the security, hope, and overconfidence their perceptions of the world give

    Read More

  • Macbeth: A Study in Ambition, Deception, and Downfall

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    Firstly, Macbeth is respected and admired by King of Scotland, due to his great exhibit of courage and strength on the battlefield against Norwegians, which resulted him being rewarded with the titles of “Thane of Cawdor”. Macbeth, who also holds a strong moral conscious regrets his decision of murdering Duncan and Banquo, due to his mature personality. After the regicide of Duncan, Macbeth feels greatly remorse and is deeply troubled by his guilt conscience. This is shown when Macbeth says to himself “Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou coudst”. This suggests that Macbeth was aware of the crimes he has committed, and he wishes he could turn this tragedy around. Macbeth also deserves respect and admiration due to his courage and bravery. Macbeth was aware of the fact the Macduff is not born from his mother’s womb, however, Macbeth refused to surrender in front of Malcom, knowing he was going to die. Macbeth’s bravery is evident in his last words, when he says “And thou opposed, / being of no woman born, yet I will try the last. Before my body/. I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, and damn'd be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!’.”

    Read More

  • What Is The Relationship Between Macbeth And Lady Macbeth

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    The death of Lady Macduff and her son, causes Macbeth’s power to spiral downwards. When Macduff finds out that Macbeth is behind the murder of his wife and son, Macduff wants to have revenge on Macbeth for his actions. To do this, Macduff decides to gather an army to fight against Macbeth. The two enemies fight against each other, with Macduff being the winner, after killing Macbeth.

    Read More

  • Masculinity In Macbeth Essay

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    A prominent theme in William Shakespeare’s novel Macbeth is the idea of universal masculinity. Throughout the play, Shakespeare utilizes male gender stereotypes to present conflicting views on the definition of manhood. Macbeth tells the reader about a man who allows both societal pressures inflicted upon him by his wife and his intense ambition to drag Macbeth into a spiral of committing obscene acts of violence. Characters often associate being a man with courage, cruelty and power. This pervading caricature of a “man” is evident to the reader throughout the play. Lady Macbeth, for instance, goads Macbeth about his masculinity to the point of murder. Additionally, Malcolm and Macduff’s rigid discussion on revenge reveals a defined notion of “true” masculinity. Perhaps the culmination of rigid gender stereotypes is evident in Macbeth's pondering of the legitimacy of the hired murderers' manhood. Clearly, Shakespeare upholds male gender stereotypes throughout Macbeth.

    Read More

  • Betrayal In Macbeth

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Furthermore, Macduff also betrays his family. When Macduff leaves to Malcolm is found out by Macbeth, Macbeth orders: ‘give to th' edge o' th' sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.’ [Act4 Scene1] This indicates that Macduff’s careless act leads to the slaughter of his whole family. He doesn’t take his family goes with him, instead, he leaves them at home defenselessly. This can be considered as a betrayal of Macduff’s family because he sacrifices his family to gain a morally higher success. In the end, he kills Macbeth with his own hands, however, he will live with guilt and grief for the rest of his life and regret the death of his family. Macduff’s betrays only to a less extent because his betrays for good purposes and are not very severe compares to what Macbeth has

    Read More

  • Compare Macbeth And Macduff

    1477 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine the world where everyone has the same characteristics. No one would stand out as a significant being as everyone conforms to the same standard. However, when there is a contrasting standard, one can use that as a stepping stone to compare oneself with and to see what kind of a person he or she really is. The existence of opposing or different characteristics can emphasize another. In the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s weaknesses, concerning his family, masculinity, and perspectives, are emphasized through contrast with Macduff’s strengths in those same areas in order to illuminate that good always triumphs over evil in the end.

    Read More

  • The Two Heroes

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    has to make between the evil within and the goodness within. In the play, there are two main characters with the qualities of courage and high achievement that heroes possess. Macbeth is the tragic hero of the story, an estimable man brought down by his flaws , and Macduff is the avenging hero, a wronged individual who fights for a right and just cause. Both of these men live similar lives up to a certain point where each much decide whether they are going to choose a life of selfishness or of honor. We see Macbeth's ambition overtake him as he chooses to fight for his own cause. However, when tragedy strikes Macduff, we see his virtue as he sets his mind towards doing what is right by fighting for the true King of Scotland, Malcolm. Macbeth and Macduff's actions shape the remainder of their lives and decide upon the nature of their heroism.

    Read More

  • Why Is Macbeth Wrong

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    He notices how stupid it was for him to go along with the women. The plan to kill the king was not horrible for him, but the consequences from said action ruined his conscience. Once Macbeth knew that he was in the wrong, it was too late for him to do anything about it; but then again, the power has gone to his head and he generally has no more control over himself. He finally noticed that he was being lied to by the witches in Scene 5, when the birnam wood shows up at his door and when Macduff tells him that he is not born of woman, but C-Section “Thou losest labour: as easy mayst thou the intrenchant air with thy keen sword impress as make me bleed: let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests; I bear a charmed life, which must not yield, to one of woman born.” (Shakespeare 5.8.8-18) argued Macbeth, Macduff replies “Despair thy charm; and let the angel whom thou still hast served tell thee, was from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd.” (Shakespeare 5.8.8-18) “Accursed be that tongue that tells me so, for it hath cow'd my better part of man! And be these juggling fiends no more believed…” (Shakespeare 5.8.8-18) Macbeth threw back at Macduff. Macbeth found that everything he knew, was just to get him to do as others wanted.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Masculinity in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth‚ the theme of masculinity is explored. As Macbeth matures‚ there are times when his masculinity is put to the test, mostly after the murder of Duncan. There are four main themes in which masculinity is presented in the play.

    Read More

  • Masculinity in Shakespeare's Macbeth

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    The great masterpiece Macbeth, which is written by William Shakespeare, deals with many different hidden themes. One of the best-hidden themes in Macbeth is manhood. Shakespeare's descriptions of his characters give real descripitions of living beings, not actors upon a stage. His manuscript is able to show the masculinity of men as well of women.  Masculinity is not just for men; some women are just like men in their quest for ambition.

    Read More

More about Macduff's Masculinity In Macbeth

Open Document