Hi folks,
Last year, there was a bit of a post-exam brouhaha (it's a word!) about so-called 'Banquo question'. It wasn't actually that bad: it was a question about Macbeth and Banquo's contrasting reactions to the witches. The extract was nice too.
This has got me thinking about other secondary characters that might get a mention in a question. And what do you do if a minor character who you haven't particularly revised comes up in the exam?
If you look at the 'Banquo question', students were basically being invited to compare Macbeth with Banquo. Confident students who engage well with the big ideas would recognise that Banquo has been specifically designed by Shakespeare to present a contrast with Macbeth. He is Macbeth's foil. He hears the same predictions, but sees the danger immediately and reacts differently. He becomes a source of fear for Macbeth because of his 'royalty of nature'; he makes Macbeth insecure because he would make a better king. Through Banquo, Shakespeare is able to show how Macbeth should have responded to the witches.
But it isn't Banquo who manages to overcome Macbeth. It is Macduff. So, what is Macduff's role in the play? Here's a handy recap of his involvement.
Macduff can be seen as an avenging hero and another foil for Macbeth. Like Banquo, he is honourable and virtuous, showing respect for the the great chain of being and the natural order of things. Read more here and here.
Below, you'll find an annotated Macduff extract, followed by my comments about Macduff's role in the wider play. Here's the question:
Last year, there was a bit of a post-exam brouhaha (it's a word!) about so-called 'Banquo question'. It wasn't actually that bad: it was a question about Macbeth and Banquo's contrasting reactions to the witches. The extract was nice too.
This has got me thinking about other secondary characters that might get a mention in a question. And what do you do if a minor character who you haven't particularly revised comes up in the exam?
If you look at the 'Banquo question', students were basically being invited to compare Macbeth with Banquo. Confident students who engage well with the big ideas would recognise that Banquo has been specifically designed by Shakespeare to present a contrast with Macbeth. He is Macbeth's foil. He hears the same predictions, but sees the danger immediately and reacts differently. He becomes a source of fear for Macbeth because of his 'royalty of nature'; he makes Macbeth insecure because he would make a better king. Through Banquo, Shakespeare is able to show how Macbeth should have responded to the witches.
But it isn't Banquo who manages to overcome Macbeth. It is Macduff. So, what is Macduff's role in the play? Here's a handy recap of his involvement.
Macduff can be seen as an avenging hero and another foil for Macbeth. Like Banquo, he is honourable and virtuous, showing respect for the the great chain of being and the natural order of things. Read more here and here.
Below, you'll find an annotated Macduff extract, followed by my comments about Macduff's role in the wider play. Here's the question:
Starting
with this speech, explore how Shakespeare contrasts the characters of Macduff
and Macbeth.
Write about:
• how Shakespeare presents Macduff in this extract.
• how Shakespeare contrasts the characters of Macbeth and
Macduff in the rest of the play.
And now,
some thoughts on Macduff's role in the play:
- He is the one who discovers Duncan's body. Twice we see him react with genuine horror to Macbeth's evil deeds. In this way, he is a voice for morality and for genuine feeling: 'O horror horror horror!'
- Unlike Ross, Macduff has no intention of going to Macbeth's coronation (2.4). He obviously has his suspicions and wants no part in the Macbeth reign. He goes further than Banquo in his suspicions, and Macbeth notes his absence at the banquet (3.4). So, Macduff is shown to be more interested in morality than he is in power and status with the new king.
- He heads to the court of the English king, determined to join Malcolm and put things right in Scotland.
- When the witches tell Macbeth to 'Beware Macduff', he seems fated to be Macbeth's nemesis. Macbeth then makes it a self-fulfilling prophecy by giving Macduff the motive to kill him. The death of Macbeth becomes a matter of justice; Macduff becomes the avenging hero.
- In the 'English scene' (4.3), Macduff is tested by Malcolm, who claims to be worse than Macbeth. Again, Macduff shows that he's more concerned about his country and morality by reacting with horror to Malcolm's claims of being without 'king-becoming graces': 'O Scotland Scotland!' He tells Malcolm that he not only does not deserve the crown, but that he doesn't deserve to live. He passes Malcolm's test. Again, Shakespeare sets up Macduff as a foil to Macbeth; he is honourable, brave and loyal - he is everything Macbeth was initially supposed to be.
- His wife and son (more on them later) are voices of reason, sense and goodness in the play (4.2). Their scene is moving, warm and human in an otherwise relentlessly dark play. Their deaths should be a horrific moment of innocence destroyed by brutality.
- Macduff's emotion and grief when he learns of the death of his loved ones is contrasted to Macbeth's emotional numbness when Lady Mac dies.
- Finally, Macduff leads the charge towards Macbeth and fulfils his destiny - killing Macbeth and returning to Malcolm with his head.
For a more in-depth character study of Macduff, see the book of Macbeth essays I sent you via email.
In the next post, I'll discuss Lady Macduff.
Mr M
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