hello everybody and welcome to today's video where i'm going to analyze the character of mcduff in shakespeare's macbeth only moments after macbeth has killed king duncan in act 2 scene 2 there is a knock on the door a knock which continues through the porter's comical speech in the next scene until the door is open to reveal lenox alongside a new character the audience has yet to meet that of macduff shakespeare's use of structure is significant here it is macduff who arrives moments after the king has been killed and it is macduff who will ultimately avenge that king's murder by cutting off the head of macbeth one way of understanding the character of macduff is as a foil to macbeth a foil is a character who contrasts another character usually the protagonist to highlight certain things about them as we saw in the banquo video banquo 2 operates as a foil to macbeth however banquo is killed in act 3 and shakespeare then seems to select another character to fill his position as foil although macduff first appears in act 2 his role as foil is most notable when banquo is no longer around if we consider that macbeth turns his back through selfish greed on the established system and traditions of his country by killing the king and claiming the crown for himself then mcduff does the complete opposite macduff sacrifices everything he has his wife his children his castle to see the rightful heir on the throne and restore the balance and equilibrium in his country through macduff the audience sees the correct choices and actions that should be taken by a good subject when macduff travels to england in act 4 scene 3 to meet with malcolm to get his support to remove macbeth from the throne he reveals his deep concern about his country and the way it's going speaking to malcolm he says bleed bleed poor country and later he says oh scotland scotland shakespeare's use of repetition in both of these lines highlights the strength of macduff's emotions here it is clear that macduff's loyalties lie with his nation mcduff isn't willing to sacrifice his country simply to give malcolm the throne either when malcolm in an effort to test mcduff lists all of his vices mcduff is willing to overlook his desire for women and riches but when malcolm says that if he had power he would pour the sweet milk of concorde into hell and confound all unity on earth macduff says that not only is malcolm not fit to govern but not to live in this scene then shakespeare presents the audience with the ideal version of the royal subject he is willing to sacrifice all that he has to maintain the system but ultimately loyalty to his nation is his number one priority mcduff's dedication and commitment to his country and his real king makes macbeth's disregard for it stand out all the more when macbeth and lady macbeth carry out their deeds they repeatedly call on heaven to look away or for light to be put out so they can't be seen it's an acknowledgement that what they are doing is wrong there can be few things worse than regicide when mcduff is informed in act 143 that his family has been murdered at the order of macbeth he swears revenge interestingly he invokes heaven and brings the idea of god and heaven into his quest he says gentle heavens cut short all intermission front to front bring thou this fiend of scotland and myself within my sword's length set him if he escape heaven forgive him too here macduff is securing the knowledge that his desire for revenge is righteous he asks gentle heavens to bring macbeth before his sword so he can deal with him malcolm 2 invokes heaven when he responds to macduff telling him that beth is ripe for the shaking and the powers above put on their instruments the suggestion here is that macduff and malcolm are righteous and that theirs is somehow a holy war against macbeth macduff and malcolm are on the side of god and heaven and all of this confirms the idea that macduff is an idealized version of the royal subject deployed to expose and highlight macbeth's worst excesses it's no coincidence that at the end of the play it is macduff who kills macbeth if mcduff is the perfect subject and macbeth is to be viewed as an example of where selfish ambition can take you then shakespeare makes a very obvious claim for tradition and upholding the system through the last interaction between the two in act 5 scene 8. as clarence boyer explains in the villainous hero in elizabethan tragedy it would be unthinkable for malcolm to defeat macbeth malcolm who fled the country on the first report of his father's death he has neither the physical strength nor the spirit to conquer the tyrant it would be distressing if he did so mcduff is the only man whose suffering has been portrayed as no less keen than macbeth's moreover he is represented as noble courageous and absolutely incorruptible the only man macbeth's equal in bravery and this is a key point to highlight when macduff kills macbeth mcduff is himself committing regicide the same crime macbeth committed when he killed king duncan however the murder of macduff's wife and children is enough to convince the audience that this is justified macbeth at first is reluctant to fight mcduff because he feels that his soul is too much charged with macduff's family blood already a reference to the slaughter of macduff's family but macduff following the lead of lady macbeth calls macbeth a coward in order to bait him into doing something he said he didn't want to do and it works macbeth in his final few lines says i will not yield to kiss the ground before young malcolm's feet which is something any good subject would actually be happy to do it is clear then that macbeth and mcduff are broadly similar they are both noble lords and they both take fate into their own hands macbeth to claim the crown and macduff travelling to england to restore the rightful heir macbeth's actions are all prompted by selfishness greed and personal ambition whereas macduff's actions are prompted by his love for both his country and the rightful king if you found this video useful please do subscribe to the channel and give the video a thumbs up