Act 4, Scene 2
Summary
- Lady Macbeth talks to her son about her husband going to England
- Murderers enter their home
- Son attempts to stand up for his father but is killed
- Other family members flee but are eventually caught
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Key Points
- The engagement with Lady Macduff and her son before the murder make the audience feel even more horror and sadness in regards to their murder
- The fact that Lady Macduffâs son is killed before her, stands up for his father, and tells his mother to run makes us feel more hatred towards Macbeth
- Lady Macduff is supposed to be the antithesis of Lady Macbeth - someone/something appears more evil when put next to someone/something that is not
Quotes
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âHis flight was madnessâ - Lady Macduff
- She believes her husband is a traitor
- She didnât get to know why he left
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âHe is noble, wise, judicious, and best knowsâ - Ross
- Defends Macduff
- Words that were used to describe Macbeth in Act 3, Scene 6 - ironic
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âfloat upon a wild and violent seaâ - Ross
- Metaphor
- Being caught up in these dangerous, political times is compared to sailing on a violent sea
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âAs birds doâ - Son
- Extended metaphor of the son being a bird
- Birds symbolise innocence, freedom, and harmlessness
- He is saying that he doesnât need to fear being trapped
- Makes the audience feel empathetic
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âto do harm is often laudable, to do good sometime accounted dangerous follyâ - Lady Macduff
- Saying that to do harm often praiseworthy, and to do good is sometimes viewed as foolish - linking to Act 1, Scene 2 where Macbeth was being praised for violently killing Macdonwald
- Parallelism reinforces âfair is foul and foul is fairâ - the world is horrible
- Recognising that the world is horrible gives the impression that she is intelligent
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âWhat, you egg!â - Murderer
- Shows how young the boy is
- âeggâ - symbolises innocence
- Makes the death sadder
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âRun away, I pray youâ - Son
- His final thoughts are of his mother
- Shows his selflessness and bravery
- Makes the audience hate Macbeth even more
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