What Is Macduff's Downfall

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He is the writer behind Macbeth, a story about a Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from three witches who says he’s going to be king. Consumed by the ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth kills the current king and takes the throne for himself. The rest of the story portrays his downfall as he is wracked with guilt and paranoia. Throughout the story Macduff, a Scottish nobleman, has portrayed himself to be ambitious, and righteous. He also shows traits of loyalty and honesty towards his friends and country and he is quite observant towards change in people's behaviour. Macduff is also
Macduff’s actions are justified by what he thinks is morally right, and doesn't act for himself alone & expects anything in return. When Macduff hears about his family's death, he mourns them and realizes that there is no point to that and he should think of what to do next. He then says “Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; / Within my swords’ length set him; if he ‘scape, / Heaven forgive him too!” (4.3.271-273). He claims he has a right to kill Macbeth for what he has done to his family and country. Macduff wants to avenge his family and Duncan, this ambition is the root of his strength. He is able to hang onto this power without going mad like Macbeth because he does not want the power for himself. He does not want to rule over others he just wants to avenge the ones he lost and end Macbeth’s tyrant over Scotland. Macduff’s lust for revenge is also what brought him to fulfilling the witches’ prophecy of a man not born of woman defeating Macbeth. During their battle, Macduff exclaims “Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripp’d” (5.8.19-20). Macbeth was the one who wanted Macduff’s family dead which caused Macduff to seek revenge. Since Macduff was “untimely ripp’d” from his mother’s womb, he is able to defeat Macbeth. Macduff not knowing about the prophecy also gives him the upper
When the topic of Malcolm becoming king came up, Malcolm decides to test Macduff’s loyalty towards him. Malcolm starts to talk bad about himself and then says that if he were king, “black Macbeth / Will seem as pure as snow” (4.3.59.60). Macduff keeps insisting that Malcolm would be a great king but Malcolm keeps denying that fact. Out of frustration, Macduff exclaims “O nation miserable! / With an untitled tyrant bloody sceptred / When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again, / Since that thy truest issue of thy throne” (4.3.116-120). Malcolm wanted to see if Macduff would pass his loyalty test, and he did. When Malcolm says he would be a horrible king, Macduff cries out in fear that his country will continue to suffer at the hands of tyrants. This shows that Macduff’s allegiance is to his country and not the title of the king. This makes him a good ally for Malcolm because Malcolm is also devoted to his country. Macduff is also open with his honesty. When he discovered Duncan’s dead body, he yelled out “O horror! Horror! Horror!” (2.3.71.) Macduff was being honest in this reaction because he was devastated from seeing someone he looked up to pass on. Shakespeare also used “The Rule of Three’s” the emphasize the emotions that Macduff is experiencing in this scene. The rule of three’s states that if something is said three times, or comes in three’s, it is more