Macduff (thane)
Encyclopedia
Macduff, the Thane of Fife, is a character in William Shakespeare
's Macbeth
(c.1603-1607). Macduff plays a pivotal role in the play: he suspects Macbeth of regicide
and eventually kills Macbeth in the final act. He is the main antagonist in the play.
The character originates from Holinshed's Chronicles
(1587).
Although characterized sporadically throughout the play, Macduff serves as a foil to Macbeth, a figure of morality, and an instrument to the play’s desired excision of femininity.
(1587
). Macduff first appears in Holinshed's narrative of King Duncan after Macbeth has killed the monarch and reigned as King of Scotland for 10 years. When Macbeth calls upon his nobles to contribute to the construction of Dunsinane castle, Macduff avoids the summons, arousing Macbeth's suspicions. Macduff leaves Scotland for England to prod Duncan's son, Malcolm, into taking the Scottish throne by force. Meanwhile, Macbeth murders Macduff's family. Malcolm, Macduff, and the English forces march on Macbeth, and Macduff kills him. Shakespeare follows Holinshed's account of Macduff closely, with his only deviations being Macduff's discovery of Duncan's body in 2.3., and Macduff's brief conference with Ross in 2.4.
Historically, the Clan MacDuff
was the most powerful family in Fife
in the medieval ages. The ruins of Macduff's Castle
lie in East Wemyss
cemetery.
in Macbeth’s castle. He raises an alarm, informing the castle that the king has been murdered. Macduff begins to suspect Macbeth of regicide when Macbeth says, “O, yet I do repent me of my fury / That I did kill them” (2.3.103-104). Interestingly, Macduff’s name does not appear in this scene; rather, Banquo
refers to him as “Dear Duff” (2.3.75).
In 2.4 Macbeth has left for Scone, the ancient royal city where Scottish kings were crowned. Macduff, meanwhile, meets with Ross and an Old Man. He reveals that he will not be attending the coronation of Macbeth and will instead return to Fife. However, Macduff flees to England to join Malcolm, the slain King Duncan’s elder son, and convinces him to return to Scotland and claim the throne.
Macbeth, meanwhile, visits the Three Witches
again after the spectre of Banquo appears at the royal banquet. The Witches warn Macbeth to “beware Macduff, beware the Thane of Fife” (4.1.87-88). Furthermore, they inform him that, “The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.96-97). Macbeth, fearing for his position as King of Scotland, orders the deaths of Macduff's wife
, children
and relatives. Macduff, who is still in England, learns of his family’s deaths through Ross, another Scottish thane. He joins Malcolm, and they return to Scotland with their English allies to face Macbeth at Dunsinane Castle.
After Macbeth slays the young Siward, Macduff confronts Macbeth. Although Macbeth believes that he cannot be killed by any man born of a woman, he soon learns that Macduff was “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped” (5.10.15-16). The two fight, and Macduff slays Macbeth offstage. Macduff ultimately presents Macbeth’s head to Malcolm, hailing him as king and calling on the other thanes to declare their allegiance with him (5.11.20-25).
The contrast between Macduff and Macbeth is accentuated by their approaches to death. Macduff, hearing of his family’s death, reacts with a tortured grief. His words, “But I must also feel it as a man” (4.3.223), indicate a capacity for emotional sensitivity. While Macbeth and Lady Macbeth insist that manhood implies a denial of feeling (1.7.45-57), Macduff insists that emotional depth and sensitivity are part of what it means to be a man. This interpretation is supported by Macduff’s reaction upon his discovery of Duncan’s corpse and the echo of Macduff’s words when Macbeth responds to the news of Lady Macbeth’s death. Macduff struggles to find the words to express his rage and anguish, crying, “O horror, horror, horror” (2.3.59). In some stage interpretations, Macduff’s character transitions from a state of shock to one of frenzied alarm. This contrasts starkly with Macbeth’s famous response to the announcement of his wife’s death: “She should have died hereafter / There would have been a time for such a word / Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” (5.5.17-19). Macbeth’s words seem to express a brutal indifference–she would have died anyway–and perhaps even suggest that he has lost the capacity to feel.
Macduff may also be read as a precursor for ethical
philosophy. Macduff's flight from Scotland is a "spiritual reawakening", with spirituality based around the truth, regardless of what it may be. Macduff constantly reexamines his values. In deciding to leave his family, Macduff deserts those values and pays bitterly for it. Macduff echoes sentiments of writers such as Plato
and the later Thomas Hobbes
, who claim that morality may only be judged to the extent that a person takes responsibility for his or her actions. Thus, because he accepts the burden of his decision to leave his family for political exploration, Macduff's actions can be justified.
Macbeth derives much of his motivation from the Witches’ perceived promise of invincibility: that no man born of woman can kill him. He interprets the prophecy to mean he is untainted by femininity, as if femininity were the source of vulnerability. Macbeth believes in his own invulnerability, claiming, “I bear a charmèd life, which must not yield / To one of woman born” (5.10.12-13). However, Macduff, born via caesarian section, exposes this fantasy as a fallacy. He replies to Macbeth: “Despair thy charm, / And let the angel whom thou still hast served / Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped” (5.10.14-16). Though he may not have been of a woman born in the conventional sense (thus fulfilling the prophecy), Macduff ultimately originates from woman, asserting that he was “from his mother’s womb” (5.10.15). If, as Macbeth believes, true manhood cannot derive from or be tainted by femininity, then Macduff’s very existence fundamentally counters this idea.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(c.1603-1607). Macduff plays a pivotal role in the play: he suspects Macbeth of regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
and eventually kills Macbeth in the final act. He is the main antagonist in the play.
The character originates from Holinshed's Chronicles
Holinshed's Chronicles
Holinshed's Chronicles, also known as Holinsheds Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions, the first in 1577, and the second in 1587....
(1587).
Although characterized sporadically throughout the play, Macduff serves as a foil to Macbeth, a figure of morality, and an instrument to the play’s desired excision of femininity.
Origin
Shakespeare based Macbeth in part upon the narratives of King Duff and King Duncan in Holinshed's ChroniclesHolinshed's Chronicles
Holinshed's Chronicles, also known as Holinsheds Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions, the first in 1577, and the second in 1587....
(1587
1587 in literature
-Events:*The Rose theatre is built by Philip Henslowe in Southwark.*Torquato Tasso travels to Rome to stay with Scipione Gonzaga, Patriarch of Jerusalem.-New books:*George Gifford - A discourse of the subtill practises of deuilles by witches and sorcerers...
). Macduff first appears in Holinshed's narrative of King Duncan after Macbeth has killed the monarch and reigned as King of Scotland for 10 years. When Macbeth calls upon his nobles to contribute to the construction of Dunsinane castle, Macduff avoids the summons, arousing Macbeth's suspicions. Macduff leaves Scotland for England to prod Duncan's son, Malcolm, into taking the Scottish throne by force. Meanwhile, Macbeth murders Macduff's family. Malcolm, Macduff, and the English forces march on Macbeth, and Macduff kills him. Shakespeare follows Holinshed's account of Macduff closely, with his only deviations being Macduff's discovery of Duncan's body in 2.3., and Macduff's brief conference with Ross in 2.4.
Historically, the Clan MacDuff
Clan MacDuff
Clan MacDuff is a Scottish armigerous clan, which is registered with Lyon Court, though currently without a chief. Moncreiffe wrote that the Clan MacDuff was the premier clan among the Scottish Gaels. The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the Earls of Fife...
was the most powerful family in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
in the medieval ages. The ruins of Macduff's Castle
Macduff's Castle
MacDuff's Castle is a ruined castle near East Wemyss, in Fife, Scotland. The site is associated with the MacDuff Earls of Fife, the most powerful family in Fife in the middle ages, although nothing survives from this period...
lie in East Wemyss
East Wemyss
East Wemyss is a village situated on the south coast of the Kingdom of Fife, Scotland. In the United Kingdom Census 2001 the population was recorded as 1841.- History :...
cemetery.
Role in the play
Macduff makes his first appearance in the play in 2.3 when he discovers the corpse of King DuncanKing Duncan
King Duncan is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Macbeth. He is the father of two youthful sons , and the victim of a well-plotted regicide in a power grab by his trusted captain Macbeth...
in Macbeth’s castle. He raises an alarm, informing the castle that the king has been murdered. Macduff begins to suspect Macbeth of regicide when Macbeth says, “O, yet I do repent me of my fury / That I did kill them” (2.3.103-104). Interestingly, Macduff’s name does not appear in this scene; rather, Banquo
Banquo
Banquo is a character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play Macbeth. In the play, he is at first an ally to Macbeth and they are together when they meet the Three Witches. After prophesying that Macbeth will become king, the witches tell Banquo that he will not be king himself, but that his...
refers to him as “Dear Duff” (2.3.75).
In 2.4 Macbeth has left for Scone, the ancient royal city where Scottish kings were crowned. Macduff, meanwhile, meets with Ross and an Old Man. He reveals that he will not be attending the coronation of Macbeth and will instead return to Fife. However, Macduff flees to England to join Malcolm, the slain King Duncan’s elder son, and convinces him to return to Scotland and claim the throne.
Macbeth, meanwhile, visits the Three Witches
Three Witches
The Three Witches or Weird Sisters are characters in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth . Their origin lies in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of England, Scotland and Ireland...
again after the spectre of Banquo appears at the royal banquet. The Witches warn Macbeth to “beware Macduff, beware the Thane of Fife” (4.1.87-88). Furthermore, they inform him that, “The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.96-97). Macbeth, fearing for his position as King of Scotland, orders the deaths of Macduff's wife
Lady Macduff
Lady Macduff, a character in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, is the wife of Macduff, the Thane of Fife, and the mother of an unnamed son and other children. Her appearance in the play is brief: she and her son are introduced in Act IV Scene II, a climactic and tragic scene that ends with both her and her...
, children
Macduff's Son
Macduff's son is a character in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth . His name and age are not established in the text, and, typical of Shakespeare's child characters, the boy is cute and clever...
and relatives. Macduff, who is still in England, learns of his family’s deaths through Ross, another Scottish thane. He joins Malcolm, and they return to Scotland with their English allies to face Macbeth at Dunsinane Castle.
After Macbeth slays the young Siward, Macduff confronts Macbeth. Although Macbeth believes that he cannot be killed by any man born of a woman, he soon learns that Macduff was “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped” (5.10.15-16). The two fight, and Macduff slays Macbeth offstage. Macduff ultimately presents Macbeth’s head to Malcolm, hailing him as king and calling on the other thanes to declare their allegiance with him (5.11.20-25).
Macduff as a foil to Macbeth
As a supporting character, Macduff serves as a foil to Macbeth; his integrity directly contrasts with Macbeth’s moral perversion. In an exchange between the Scottish thane Lennox and another lord, Lennox talks of Macduff’s flight to England and refers to him as “some holy angel” (3.6.46) who “may soon return to this our suffering country / Under a hand accursed” (3.6.48-49). The play positions the characters of Macduff and Macbeth as holy versus evil.The contrast between Macduff and Macbeth is accentuated by their approaches to death. Macduff, hearing of his family’s death, reacts with a tortured grief. His words, “But I must also feel it as a man” (4.3.223), indicate a capacity for emotional sensitivity. While Macbeth and Lady Macbeth insist that manhood implies a denial of feeling (1.7.45-57), Macduff insists that emotional depth and sensitivity are part of what it means to be a man. This interpretation is supported by Macduff’s reaction upon his discovery of Duncan’s corpse and the echo of Macduff’s words when Macbeth responds to the news of Lady Macbeth’s death. Macduff struggles to find the words to express his rage and anguish, crying, “O horror, horror, horror” (2.3.59). In some stage interpretations, Macduff’s character transitions from a state of shock to one of frenzied alarm. This contrasts starkly with Macbeth’s famous response to the announcement of his wife’s death: “She should have died hereafter / There would have been a time for such a word / Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” (5.5.17-19). Macbeth’s words seem to express a brutal indifference–she would have died anyway–and perhaps even suggest that he has lost the capacity to feel.
Macduff as a moral figure
Although Macduff comes to represent a type of “goodness” in the dark world of Macbeth, Shakespeare also allows for some instability in his character. This becomes most evident in 4.3 when Macduff joins Malcolm in England. In this scene, the play has moved from the tumult in Scotland to England. In the exchange between the two Scotsmen, Malcolm is clearly in control and forces Macduff to examine and reconcile with himself his own moral code. In a moment of dramatic irony, Macduff begins the conversation urging Malcolm to fight for Scotland rather than to grieve, not knowing that Malcolm has already arranged for English military support (4.3.134-136). Malcolm manipulates Macduff, questioning his loyalty, facilitating his emotional responses, and testing to see how much Macduff’s, and perhaps the audience’s, morality can ultimately be compromised. Malcolm portrays Macbeth as a tyrant, but he positions himself, too, as someone morally repulsive. He describes his own voluptuousness–the bottomless “cistern of [his] lust” (4.3.64)–and “staunchless avarice” (4.3.79). Macduff must decide whether he can accept Malcolm as an alternative to Macbeth. He does not give this answer until the final scene, addressing Malcolm, “Hail King” (5.6.20). By this point, however, Malcolm has "abjure[d] / The taints and blames I laid upon myself, / For strangers to my nature"(4.3.125-127). This shows that rather than speaking truthfully about himself, Malcolm was simply testing Macduff to see where Macduff's loyalties were. Therefore, Macduff is right in accepting Malcolm as king.Macduff may also be read as a precursor for ethical
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
philosophy. Macduff's flight from Scotland is a "spiritual reawakening", with spirituality based around the truth, regardless of what it may be. Macduff constantly reexamines his values. In deciding to leave his family, Macduff deserts those values and pays bitterly for it. Macduff echoes sentiments of writers such as Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
and the later Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
, who claim that morality may only be judged to the extent that a person takes responsibility for his or her actions. Thus, because he accepts the burden of his decision to leave his family for political exploration, Macduff's actions can be justified.
Macbeth and the fantasy of female power
One of the themes that the play Macbeth wrestles with is the relationship between male vulnerability and feminine influence. The play explores the fantasy of a female or maternal power as well as the desire of an escape from this influence. Femaleness is to be feared and reviled, and to a certain extent, the play works to excise femininity and restore autonomous male or paternal power. However, the play also exposes the impossibility of the fantasy of absolute masculinity.Macbeth derives much of his motivation from the Witches’ perceived promise of invincibility: that no man born of woman can kill him. He interprets the prophecy to mean he is untainted by femininity, as if femininity were the source of vulnerability. Macbeth believes in his own invulnerability, claiming, “I bear a charmèd life, which must not yield / To one of woman born” (5.10.12-13). However, Macduff, born via caesarian section, exposes this fantasy as a fallacy. He replies to Macbeth: “Despair thy charm, / And let the angel whom thou still hast served / Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped” (5.10.14-16). Though he may not have been of a woman born in the conventional sense (thus fulfilling the prophecy), Macduff ultimately originates from woman, asserting that he was “from his mother’s womb” (5.10.15). If, as Macbeth believes, true manhood cannot derive from or be tainted by femininity, then Macduff’s very existence fundamentally counters this idea.