macduff

Question 1

when macduff discovers duncan’s body he states
“most sacrilegious murder”

Answer 1

-uses alliteration to emphasise that it is unspeakable what he has seen,it is unfathomable that someone can kill the king,shows his loyalty
-in contrast to macbeth macduff has no ambition
-shows he is scared as the sacrilegious act against god will cause chaos to happen

Question 2

after fleeing to england macduff speaks to malcolm to encourage him to raise an army to kill macbeth he states
“o nation miserable,with an untitled tyrant”

themes-kingship,great chain of beings

Answer 2

-uses personification of scotland to show that it is crushed under the weight of the wrong king,showing macduff’s loyalty once again
-shows how macbeth going against the divine right of kings has caused scotland to fall and be at war with itself

Question 3

when macduff discovers his family has been killed by macbeth he states
“all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?”

theme-ambition,supernatural

Answer 3

-uses a metaphor “chickens” to describe his family as weak,vulnerable and helpless
-this metaphor shows macbeth’s evilness as a result of his ambition as he is killing the weak and pitiful
-links to how macbeth has become corrupted due to the supernatural influence of the witches

Question 4

when macduff faces macbeth at battle he states
“from his mothers womb untimely ripped”

theme-supernatural

Answer 4

-the declarative statement illustrates to macbeth that he is now going to kill macbeth
-shows how macduff is going to restore the natural order by killing macbeth
-macbeth at this stage realises that the witches have fed him halve truths

Question 5

after macduff has killed macbeth he carries macbeth’s head to malcolm’s army and states
“the usurper’s cursed head…hail king of scotland!”

-ambition,divine right of kings

Answer 5

-usuper is someone who has kicked out the king from his rightful position
-the exclamatory sentence shows his loyalty and lack of ambition as he is hailing malcolm as the new king
-the noun usurper shows how macduff is still disgusted that macbeth dared kill the king

Question 6

quotes for macduff

Answer 6

-“the usurper’s cursed head…hail king of scotland!”
-“from his mothers womb untimely ripped”
-“all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?”
-“o nation miserable,with an untitled tyrant”
-“most sacrilegious murder”