Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.” Many powerful people in society are unable to balance their morals with their power, struggling to maintain their integrity. The idea that power and control can have a negative effect on an individual is prominent in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Macbeth’s loyal and trustworthy facade fades, revealing an unpleasant reality. The people of Scotland believe that they will find safety and success in Macbeth as king, but once the power travels to Macbeth’s head, his true colors are display. The perspective of Macbeth quickly changes and Macduff becomes the avenging hero to save Scotland. Throughout Macbeth’s transition from …show more content…
Thane of Glamis to King, his idea of right and wrong become blurred proving that MacDuff is more devoted to Scotland. There is no shortage of loyalty for Scotland when Duncan is king.
After Duncan’s death, the people of Scotland and the son of Duncan come to the realization that Macduff has pure intentions to restore order in Scotland. The death of Duncan has distraught MacDuff, “ Tongue nor heart / cannot conceive nor name thee” (II.iii.67). This displays Macduff’s admiration for Scotland as he refers this this tragedy as a “destruction of a masterpiece”. As Scotland faces downfall under the reign of MacBeth, MacDuff prepares to fight for the sake of his country and for the rightful heir of the throne, Malcolm. MacDuff constantly remains loyal to his nation despite the ups and downs Scotland faces, willing to risk his life in order to save Scotland. In the eye’s of Scotland’s citizens, MacDuff is an avenging …show more content…
hero. Once Macbeth understands the amount of power he will gain as King, his greed exceeds his morals and completely transform his identity. Macbeth begins to transforms after the witches' prophecies bring out his ambitious nature and Lady Macbeth convince him to kill Duncan. In Macbeth’s eyes, King Duncan is nothing but an obstacle in his path to ultimate power. The death of Duncan is the start of Macbeth’s evil nature. Soon after Macbeth’s crowning, the citizens of Scotland realize that Macbeth is not the best choice for King, as he selfishly places his value over the value of Scotland. The rightful heir to the throne, Malcolm, flees to England to escape Macbeth, “I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds.” (IV. iii. 40-42). The honorable Macbeth that captured the heart of Scotland's people by his brave efforts in the battle against enemy Macdonwald, no longer exists and now Scotland struggles to survive under the tyranny of Macbeth. The actions of MacDuff and MacBeth after the death of Duncan, speaks volumes about their character.
Macbeth taking advantage of this solemn time to take the throne counteracts on his prior “honorable, loyal, and brave” behavior. Due to Macbeth’s ruthless and selfish actions, he has caused great a disturbance and concern for well-being of Scotland. Contrary to Macbeth’s self-absorbed attitude, MacDuff has Scotland’s best interest at heart. MacDuff proves his allegiance to his nation by begging Malcolm to fight with him against Macbeth. MacDuff wholeheartedly believes Malcolm will be a better king and this is what King Duncan would want for his country. As MacDuff becomes a threat to MacBeth’s reign, MacBeth wants to kill Macduff, “And take a bond of fate. Thou shalt not live, That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, And sleep in spite of thunder.” (IV.i.86-88). In order to protect his fate, MacBeth believes in killing anyone who challenges him. It becomes evident that the power hungry Macbeth has caused great sufferings and has destroyed the hierarchy in the kingdom. It becomes apparent that MacDuff is a better fit for the throne, his constant bravery, loyalty, determination surpasses the greedy and egotistical Macbeth’s ability to be king. This uncontrollable desire for power becomes Macbeth’s largest flaw, which results in his destruction of character, therefore making Macbeth a tragic
hero. The downfall of Macbeth is the result of one compromising his integrity for power, thus displaying his lack of loyalty for Scotland. Macduff becomes the people’s avenging hero, fighting on behalf of Scotland’s best interest of Macbeth. The consistency in Macduff’s trustworthiness and loyalty outshines Macbeth’s short-lived bravery. The imbalance of power is due to the tyranny established by Macbeth because of his growing desire for power. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s honorable actions are limited, putting his pride first, results in selfish actions that disastrous and harmful towards the success of Scotland. A vast majority of individuals can show bravery, but only a handful of individuals can handle the bravery and strength that comes with being a leader.
Conflict of forces is reflected in the character of Macduff. Duncan’s murder is discovered by his loyal supporter Macduff. It is the intensity of his devotion to the king that brings him to the castle just at the time of the murder and makes him the first to see the dead body, "The Lord’s anointed temple" (Act II, Scene3, 67) as he calls it. Had Macduff’s loyalty been supported by corresponding strength he could have come in time to save Duncan. But as Duncan displays goodness and virtue without sufficient power to maintain his rule, Macduff’s capacity for pure loyalty is not combined with the strength required to express it. When soon afterwards he goes to England in support of Duncan’s son Malcolm, his wife and children are left to be murdered by Macbeth. His personality lacks the energy to sustain both the commitments of his loyal heart. In expressing his loyalty to the dead king he ignores his equally great commitment to protect his family.
As the war for the justified king began, Macbeth faces his deep-rooted friend, Macduff. The fact Macbeth has murdered Macduff’s family exceeds their past friendship; Macduff seeks revenge against Macbeth and begins to draw his sword. Macbeth, however, refuses to fight: “Of all men else I have avoided thee. But get thee back. My soul is too much charged with blood of thine already” (V. iix. 5-7). Shakespeare shows that the blood Macbeth has charged with came from his ambition to become king and to stay king. Macbeth willingly and consciously kills his friend’s family in order to keep the crown. Individuals, overcome by greed, will kill entire families for power. Nevertheless, with greedy ambition comes retaliation. Macduff decapitates Macbeth and Death from past vengeance proclaims the final step of
Power can transform even the most loyal of men. In Shakespeare’s gloomy and morbid Macbeth, nothing is as it seems. Even the most loyal characters are duplicitous in their nature, exemplified by Macbeth. The greatest Scottish warrior becomes power hungry in his quest to re-kindle his relationship with his wife, Lady Macbeth, and is thrown over the edge when he is not appointed the Prince of Cumberland, an honor he feels he deserves. This same hunger for power ultimately destroys Macbeth, leading him to betray all those he loves, including king Duncan, his friend Banquo, and his wife.
With this new knowledge, Macduff knows that he must be the one to kill Macbeth and secure Malcolm’s right to the throne. Macduff does kill Macbeth, being the only one able to do so and secure peace and prosperity for Scotland.
Some people are just meant to be heroes. In this wonderful play by Shakespeare Macduff is a good choice and born to be a hero. Throughout Macbeth there are several examples of Macduffs heroism and bravery. Macduff is a loving, caring man of action, Thane of Fife and a Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth's kingship. When he leaves his loving family to flee to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth has Macduff's wife and children murdered. At the end of the play, Macduff (who was born through a caesarian section) kills Macbeth bringing prosperity back to Scotland, and proving the truth in the witches prophecy that "no man of woman born" can harm Macbeth and his true heroism.
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
Humans are always fascinated by power. Sadly, they do not realize the danger of it until it is too late. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare's underscores how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both consumed by power. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth dominates Macbeth, manipulating him to kill Duncan. After the death of Duncan, Macbeth becomes ambitious, and hires murderers to kill Banquo without notifying Lady Macbeth. Even though he is a decorated soldier, when Macbeth rises to power, he becomes ruthless. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth becomes weak, and insane. Shakespeare illustrates how Macbeth’s obsession with power undermines his moral judgement, leads to his mental deterioration, and ultimately results in his death.
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
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
He is the "sovereign flower" and will drown "the weeds" (Macbeth). Macbeth's castle is attacked, and he challenges Macduff to a fight. Even after he learns that Macduff had a Caesarean birth (and therefore he is able to kill Macbeth), he keeps fighting to his death, showing a small part of his old, brave and gallant self before he became. Duncan's murderer before he broke the Natural Order. Macbeth was "a gentleman on whom [Duncan] built an absolute trust."
"Power poisons every man who covets it for himself" (Chute 126). In the Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, the character, Macbeth, kills the respected King Duncan in his quest for power. However, during his rule, Macbeth demonstrates that he is incapable of mastering the power and responsibilities of being a king. His drive for power and maintaining his power is the source of his downfall. Macbeth is not meant to have authority beyond Thane of Cawdor. When Macbeth is king, he does not use his authority judiciously.
And Banquo’s son Fleance manages to escape from the attack. Next, Macduff refuses to accept Macbeth as king and flees to England to join Malcom. The witches tell him to beware of Macduff, which angers Macbeth and drives him to kill Macduff's family. The fear of losing the impending battle with England makes Macbeth begin doing anything that will give him an edge in the final battle.
For example, because he felt threatened by Macduff, he chose to kill his entire family. This caused Macduff to be filled with many emotions. He felt upset at the loss of his family but also angry knowing Macbeth's true personality. He even told Malcolm out of anger, "Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself. Within my sword’s length set him; if he ’scape, Heaven forgive him too." Macduff explained to Malcolm that he would avenge his family's death by fighting Macbeth. After the fight between the two, MacDuff returned exclaiming "Hail king! For so thou art. Behold where stands The usurper’s cursèd head. The time is free. I see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s pearl, That speak my salutation in their minds, Whose voices I desire aloud with mine. Hail, King of Scotland!" Macbeth was killed by Macduff, and his position as king, which he had worked so hard to obtain was given up to Malcolm. Macbeth lost his position only because he chose to deceive the public. Had Macbeth actually been a good king, and not deceived the public with a false image, he would still be alive, and have
By this point, he has alienated all of his friends and acquaintances, and people have grown suspicious of him. When Macbeth is informed of his wife’s death, he seems numb, despite the great amount of love there was between them. In the scene, he states, “She should have died hereafter;/There would have been a time for such a word… Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player…It is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing.” (16-28). In this moment, the audience becomes aware of just how much Macbeth’s loss of power has undone him, and how much power has truly taken him over the edge. Macbeth reaches his all time low in his battle with Macduff, when he says “…damned be him that first cries ‘Hold, enough!’” (34). Though Macbeth is aware that Macduff is not one of woman born, and thus fits the criteria to be Macbeth’s killer, Macbeth remains confident. All chance of Macbeth recovering and losing pride is gone, and the ultimate effects of hubris are revealed. Both Greek and Christian hubris are in this final act. Greek hubris his resulted in Macbeth’s doom, whereas Christian hubris leaves a note of hope when Malcolm, who exhibits many of the characteristics that define a good king, takes over the
When Malcolm spoke about how he would be far worse than Macbeth, MacDuff assures Malcolm that he will never be, and that anything he would ever want is at his fingertips. Malcolm says, “It is myself I mean, in whom I know All the particulars of vice so grafted, that, when they shall be opened, black Macbeth Will seem as pure as now, and the poor state esteem him as a lamb, being compared with my confineless harms” (iv.iii). Macduff responds with, “Not in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more damned In evils to top Macbeth” (iv.iii). This shows his obvious allegiance Malcolm, and his willingness to aid Malcolm in his reign. Since Macbeth was king back in Scotland, Macduff could have gathered an army himself and gone back to Scotland alone to acquire the crown. However instead of doing so, Macduff stands by Malcolm for the well being of their country and to keep the natural order of who should be king. He attempts to illustrate that Malcolm would make a better king, but he doesn't feign acceptance of his cruel ways either. When Malcolm asks Macduff, “If such a one be fit to govern, speak. I am as I have spoken” (iv.iii). Macduff masks no emotion with his response, and makes clear that he doesn't see Malcolm as fit to rule according to his statements. He says, “Fit to govern?/No, not to live“ (iv.iii). However, Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty with his promises of being a bad king