- what Malcolm says about himself
- how Macduff establishes his sadness about Malcolm's remarks
- how Macduff establishes his loyalty to Scotland
- how Malcolm's test succeeds at binding the two men together before they battle Macbeth in Act 5
Saturday, April 2, 2016
conversation #2 --- Group D
The first half of Act 4 scene 3 of the play is in the form of a dialogue between Malcolm and MacDuff through which Malcolm tests MacDuff in a most peculiar way: by describing himself as wise than Macbeth, Malcolm is looking to see the degree which Macduff is loyal to Scotland more than to any particular leader. Please comment on
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Malcolm says that he would be a worse leader than Macbeth. Malcolm believes that his country will suffer more evil than it has before with himself as king which would make Macbeth look like a great leader. For example Malcolm says, "All the particulars of vice so grafted That, when they shall be opened, black Macbeth will seem as pure as snow, and the poor state esteem him as a lamb, being compared with my confine less harmed." (143). Malcolm also says he does not have any king qualities like justice, stableness, devotion, courage, patience, and more. Macduff is shocked about the way Malcolm described himself, he even says he is not fit to live. Macduff is disappointed in the way his country is run because he believes the ruler Macbeth is a terrible tyrant, and he wonders when Scotland will be a peaceful place again. For example he says, "With an untitled tyrant bloody sceptered, When shalt thou see they wholesome days again..."(147). The evils in Scotland is a major reason why Macduff left Scotland and has no hope about his country ever becoming great again.
ReplyDeleteMacduff establishes his loyalty to Scotland once Ross tells him the news that his family was killed by Macbeth which makes Macduff want to go to Scotland to kill him, and make Scotland better since it has been ruined by the tyrant Macbeth.
Malcolm tested Macbeth's patriotism during the conversation they had with each other which eventually succeeds at the end when Macduff said he will head to Scotland to kill Macbeth, and rebuild the country. When Malcolm talked about the negatives of Macbeth and Scotland, it eventually motivated Macduff to return to Scotland to end his reign as king once he heard the news that Macbeth even killed his family.
Malcolm puts himself down for the sake of Scotland and the crown because he truly wants the tyranny of Macbeth to end Malcolm also is an extremely wise human being because at first Macduff did not realize that he was being tested by Malcolm and at the time in the play no one knew who could be trusted or not and Malcolm needed to ensure he could trust Macduff.
ReplyDeleteMacduff establishes his loyalty for Scotland in a few ways such as that he came all the way to England to save Scotland and that he is determined after his family is killed he is determined to kill Macbeth for the sake of Scotland and fix the mess that Macbeth has made of Scotland.
Once Malcolm saw that Macduff passed his test he got Macduff riled up to be more powerful and energetic when he battles Macbeth and also made Macduff feel even more patriotic because it will be Macduff that truly ends Macbeth and saves Scotland from further chaos.
In this scene in the play, Macduff and Malcolm meet up in England. Malcolm suspects that Macduff might be sent to him by Macbeth so that they can kill him like they did his father. To make sure that Macduff is not sent by Macbeth, he puts Macduff through somewhat of a test. He tells Macduff that he would be a terrible leader, and that the country would be better off if Macbeth rules Scotland rather than Malcolm. He tells Macduff that he doesn't have certain things that a king should have, like courage and patience. Macduff is surprised about how Malcolm described himself, and says that he isn't fit to live. Macduff is mad about how his country is ruled because he says that Macbeth is a terrible leader. Once Ross tells Macduff about what Macbeth did to his family, Macduff said that he was going to go to Scotland to kill Macbeth. At this moment in the play, Macduff establishes his loyalty to Scotland, since he wants his country to be in good hands.
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ReplyDeleteMalcolm establishes his goal to defeat Macbeth in order to restore Scotland and has devoted himself to achieving it. However, Malcolm cannot do it alone, and he needs his allies to have the same interests as him, which is to restore greatness to Scotland. Therefore in this scene, Malcolm tests Macduff. Malcolm tells Macduff that he is more evil than Macbeth would ever be. Malcolm shocks Macduff and hopes to elicit a response where Macduff shows his loyalty to Scotland. Macduff does do this and shows his determination to kill Macbeth and reclaim Scotland. It brings both of the men together by uniting their mutual desires to reclaim Scotland.
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