macduff

"O, horror, horror, horror! / Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!"

Macduff discovers Duncan’s murder and is overwhelmed. The repetition and broken syntax show his shock and grief. Methods: Repetition, fragmented speech, emotive language. Themes: Horror, chaos, natural order.

"Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!"

Macduff expresses doubt about Macbeth’s kingship, comparing leadership to clothing. Methods: Metaphor, foreshadowing. Themes: Legitimacy, suspicion, political unease.

"He has no children. / All my pretty ones? Did you say all?"

After learning his entire family is murdered, Macduff’s grief is raw and devastating. Methods: Rhetorical questions, repetition, emotional outburst. Themes: Family, grief, brutality.

"I shall do so; / But I must also feel it as a man."

He balances emotion with action — a mature view of masculinity. Methods: Antithesis, personal voice. Themes: Masculinity, justice, human emotion.

"Let us make medicine of our great revenge, / To cure this deadly grief."

He channels grief into revenge, comparing it to medicine. Methods: Metaphor, juxtaposition. Themes: Revenge, healing, justice.

"Turn, hell-hound, turn!"

Macduff challenges Macbeth, calling him a "hell-hound" — a symbol of evil. Methods: Metaphor, imperative. Themes: Justice, revenge, confrontation.

Macduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped."

He reveals he was born by caesarean, defeating Macbeth’s belief in the witches’ prophecy. Methods: Irony, foreshadowing fulfilled, dramatic revelation. Themes: Fate, prophecy, truth.

"Hail, King! (*) The usurper’s cursed head."

Macduff presents Macbeth’s severed head to Malcolm, restoring order. Methods: Visual imagery, justice symbolism. Themes: Restoration, leadership, divine order.

"Bleed, bleed, poor country!"

Macduff personifies Scotland as a wounded victim under Macbeth’s tyranny. His grief and patriotism are clear. Methods: Personification, repetition, emotive language. Themes: Patriotism, tyranny, national suffering.

"O nation miserable, / With an untitled tyrant bloody-sceptered, /

Macduff mourns the state of Scotland under Macbeth. The rhetorical question conveys hopelessness and longing for justice. Methods: Rhetorical question, emotive tone, vivid imagery. Themes: Tyranny, justice, hope for restoration.

"Fit to govern? / No, not to live."

Macduff bluntly denounces Macbeth’s legitimacy, prioritising justice for Scotland over personal vengeance. Methods: Direct speech, rhetorical question, blunt tone. Themes: Justice, leadership, morality, patriotism.