Act IV: Scene 3
Summary
In England,
Duncan's son Malcolm tests the loyalty of his newest recruit, Macduff. By
demeaning his own nobility and professing himself to be a greater tyrant than
Macbeth, Malcolm hopes to goad Macduff into an open display of his loyalties.
This attempt at reverse psychology has its desired effect. Macduff is thrown
into a fit of anger against the "untitled tyrant" Macbeth, and
Malcolm enlists his help in the struggle. When Ross appears with news of the
slaughter of Macduff's family, Macduff is finally convinced not only to engage
in the rebel army but also to take personal revenge upon Macbeth. This scene
also includes a passage in which it is reported that England's king, Edward the
Confessor, has provided more than political aid to Malcolm; he has been healing
the sick by supernatural means.
Analysis
This scene
develops further the important issues of loyalty and courage found in the
preceding scene, and it is structured in two halves: the first concerns the
testing of Macduff's loyalty by Malcolm; the second evokes the great passion of
Macduff in the face of terrible grief and his sworn revenge on Macbeth.
It is helpful
to think of this scene as a job interview. Malcolm begins by suggesting that
Macduff may be prepared to betray him as "a sacrifice" to his
previous leader, Macbeth. Macduff passes this stage of the interview by boldly
announcing, "I am not treacherous." Still, Malcolm persists: Men may
look as bright as angels on the outside but still harbor secret feelings
within. Why, he asks, did Macduff desert his wife and children? At this point,
Macduff nearly fails the test: He cannot believe that Malcolm is so
short-sighted not to realize that his interests lie in defending not only his
family but the whole nation of Scotland.
As in Ross'
speech in Act IV, Scene 2, the context of this entire scene has been set in
terms of the country as a whole: Macduff explains to Malcolm that "Each
new morn . . . new sorrows / Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds / As
if it felt with Scotland"(4-7). Later, Macduff cries out "O Scotland,
Scotland . . . O nation miserable!" Macbeth's motivation in murdering
Duncan may have been personal, but its effects have become very much public.
Malcolm's
next move is a daring piece of reverse psychology: He claims that as a future
king, he himself will be even more malicious and barbarous than Macbeth. To
understand this scene, the audience must be aware from the start that Malcolm
is lying when he suggests that he possesses no virtues, no nobility, no honor,
and no qualities of kingship.
Macduff's
response to this suggestion is at first cautious. His speech beginning with the
words "Boundless intemperance in nature is a tyranny . . . " has a
diplomatic tone. Macduff argues, probably against his better judgment, that
certain human sins are forgivable, even in a king. Even avarice, the sinful
desire for wealth, is "portable" when balanced against the good
qualities of kingship. "But I have none," replies Malcolm, listing
exactly those qualities which he does have and which, of course, Macbeth lacks.
At this point, Macduff snaps. He cannot endure the thought that the country
might have to undergo another reign even more vicious than Macbeth's. Seeing
Macduff's clearly emotional response, Malcolm relents, revealing as fake the
self-portrait he has previously given.
The next 20
lines may appear curious to a modern audience, for two reasons: first, because
they were probably added as a flattering direct address to King James I, for
whom the play was performed; and second because of what they reveal about the
miraculous healing powers ascribed to his forebear, Edward the Confessor.
According to legend, Edward had been able to cure scrofula, or the King's Evil,
a glandular inflammation, simply by touching the diseased patient. But the
passage is dramatically ironic as well: The king of England is shown to be a monarch
of genuine goodness and to use the supernatural for beneficial purposes. Coming
almost immediately after Macbeth's visit to the Witches, this contrast is made
even more clear. Moreover, the speech introduces us to the choric (or
commentating) figure of the Doctor, who speaks of disease but is powerless to
cure the more severe, mental affliction of Lady Macbeth in the subsequent
scene.
When Ross
enters, his report consolidates this idea of disease. According to him, the
entire country is "teeming" with illness: He reveals that
"sighs, and groans, and shrieks . . . rent the air" and that
"good men's lives expire before the flowers in their caps, / Dying or ere
they sicken" (168-173). However, the worst news is for the ears of Macduff
alone. In a piece of dialogue heavy with emotion, Ross relates the story of the
murder of Lady Macduff and her little children. His speech wavers, as he tries
to avoid telling Macduff the truth.
On hearing
the news about his family, Macduff's reaction is understandable. Shakespeare
gives him an implied stage direction in Malcolm's line "What man! ne'er
pull your hat upon your brows," which suggests that Macduff must cover his
face to prevent any unmanly show of grief. But Malcolm suggests that Macduff's
tears should become "medicines . . . / To cure this deadly grief."
Macduff, however, feels he can only blame himself. With ironic reference to his
wife's words of the previous scene, he alludes to his "poor
chickens," slaughtered by the "fell swoop" of a bird of prey.
The emotional impact of this scene reaches its climax in Macduff's response
when Malcolm tells him to "[d]ispute it like a man": "I shall do
so / But I must also feel it as a man."
From this
moment onwards, Macduff becomes the stereotypical avenging hero. It was he who
first discovered the murder of Duncan, having arrived, Christ-like, at the
gates of hell in Act II, Scene 3. Now he must take on himself the personal act
of revenge. The scene is set for the final act.
Glossary
to friend
(10) auspicious
recoil in an imperial
charge (20) recoil (like a cannon) when under royal orders (from Macbeth)
jealousies
(29) suspicions
afeer'd (34)
confirmed
rich East to
boot (37) all the wealth of the Orient as well
grafted (51)
embedded
spacious
plenty (71) at will
summer-seeming
(86) youthful
foisons (88)
abundance
interdiction
(107) accusation
trains (118)
tricks
detraction
(123) self-accusation
convinces . .
. art (143) defeats all the attempts of (medical) skill
stamp (153)
coin
eye (186)
command
latch (195)
catch
fee-grief . .
. breast (196) a personal sorrow
quarry . . .
deer (206) carnage of these dead creatures
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