Comparison of the Characteristic of Macbeth and Macduff in Shakespeare's Macbeth

林靖怡

Comparison of the Characteristic of Macbeth and Macduff in Shakespeare's Macbeth

林靖怡

Author:

Lin Jingyi is majoring in English Literature from the University of Hong Kong.

Macbeth is Shakespeare's famed tragedy which, through the tragic downfall of Macbeth, gives a vivid description of the perilous coups and plots in the 11century Scotland and serves as a mirror to reflect the darkness emanated from human nature. Macbeth, who is the hero of this tragic story, is portrayed to have a soul tortured by fear and lack of inner masculinity which admits not a moment's repose, rushing in cruelty towards the doom. However, the nobleman Macduff in this play has many lost courage and virtues of Macbeth rendered in his character. In this essay I hold the view that Macbeth, who is utterly wretched by fear, is lack of courage and masculinity inside however brilliant has been his outward manliness and braveness. His braveness on the battlefield is just a cover for his insecure manhood, partly because of his infertility. Thus bloody killing is constantly employed as a way to pursue the balance of life and help stabilize the frenzy fear. On the contrary, Macduff's masculinity is doubtless with far more children and a brave heart which is filled with loyalty and honesty as well as love although he is not good at communicating with his family. It is communication with family members that plays a vital role in Macbeth's successful plot while sad as it might be, the imbecility of communication for Macduff leads to his family's death. A comparison of Macbeth and Macduff's characters will be made from the following aspects: their courage and masculinity, their inner being and outer act and how they communicate with people.

Macbeth lacks inner masculinity and his soul is driven by fear which is the direct reason for his unlimited killing while Macduff is quite the opposite who generates courage from the brutal acts of his enemy and f ghts back in a manly way. Many people believe that Macbeth kills people just to "achieve the hardened heart that no further bloody deeds will inure him to such painful consequences and to strengthen himself in the custom of evil" (Cunningham 40). However, I do not agree with this view as there is strong proof that Macbeth does all the murders because of fear and lack of inner masculinity and that makes him susceptible deep inside his thoughts. Just as Bradley put it, "The blackness of night is to the hero a thing of fear, even of horror, and that which he feels becomes the spirit of the play" (Bradley 353). This kind of fear gradually gives color to Macbeth's soul and thus haunts him all the time as he does not have a child, therefore having no one to carry on the family line. Just as he himself puts it, "a barren scepter in [his] gripe" (Ⅲ.Ⅰ.62). The inner fear and lack of masculinity, as we could see, is a vital reason why he kills Banquo as he is afraid of "make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings" (Ⅲ.Ⅰ.70). Another scene that could prove Cunningham's idea not reasonable is when Macbeth saw Banquo seating bloodily at the banquet, being able to be on time even as a ghost. Inner fear at once conquers Macbeth and the so-called "hardened heart" could hardly be seen. Not until the ghost quits could he barely murmur the sentence "I am a man again" (Ⅲ.Ⅳ.108). The appearance of Banquo captures Macbeth as a slave of insecurity and lack of inner masculinity and no matter how hard he disguises himself, sunshine is doomed to pierce the thick darkness of deep night and bring the truth about this coward king who only decorates himself with the so-called braveness. Surely will not a man with a hardened heart gain delusions from such an ordinary banquet. Just as Cunningham himself has stated, "he never does achieve the love of evil for its own sake, and he remains to the end conscious of all he has lost" (Cunningham 44).

Macbeth's fear and lack of inner masculinity could also be seen in other scenes. Before killing Duncan Macbeth is already frightened as he sees strange images "which derives from them its terror or gloom" (Bradley 47) and hesitates about whether to kill Duncan or not. "We will speak further" (MacbethⅠ.Ⅴ.72). "If we should fail?" (Ⅰ.Ⅶ.58). His hesitation conspires with his fear for the unforeseen catastrophes and the unknown world he is going to create hereafter. This kind of fear still glitters before him after killing Duncan. "Hark! Who lies i’ the second chamber?" (Ⅱ.Ⅱ.17). "Didst thou not hear a noise?" (Ⅱ.Ⅱ.13). Extreme and eternal fear is now deeply rooted in Macbeth's inner being. He strides from crime to crime, with his heart never ceased, hastening his margin of killing with shapes of terror. Now let us look at what he says before he kills Banquo:

Our fears in Banquo stick deep,

And in his royalty of nature reigns that

Which would be feared. Tis much he dares

There is none but he

Whose being I do fear: and under him

My genius is rebuked (Ⅳ.Ⅴ.50-56).

Macbeth fought his way to the throne with weird foretells, strange witchcrafts and above all, dark plots which bears its fruit of murder. Thus within him there lays deep fear of being overthrown by people like Banquo whose brilliant talent and loyalty lit like the f ame of sunshine and could cover his own glory. The inner being of Macbeth, haunted by fear, observes the world in direful shapes without trust or conf dence and yet would get rid of anything that stands in his way to eternal kingship. The fear of Banquo's genius and his descendants being king swells in a dreadful speed and f nally we see blood pours out, Duncan's faint torchlight extinguished, Fleance's horse running alone and hurriedly into the darkness of the night woods.

However, Macduff acts differently as he says:

But I must also feel it as a man.

I cannot but remember such things were,

That were most precious to me. (Ⅳ.Ⅲ. 221-223).

These words bring him the gigantic and sublime image of having a strong inner world and being a more complete man. He is able to cheer up and fight for justice after the death of his family which makes a sharp contrast to Macbeth who only sighs for the pity of life when he hears the news of his wife's death. The cruelty of Macbeth is the root of courage for Macduff as the death of his family is no less than a bolt from the blue for him. Macduff is never going to bend down for any tyrant or cruelty deeds. He says no when Macbeth, as the newly crowned king, invites him to the grand banquet; he says no when Malcom describes himself as a beast and seeks for approval; he says no to a depressed life and pulls himself together to f ght for his family and kingdom. Faced with power Macbeth never says no as he disguises himself and tries to "make our faces vizards to our hearts / disguising what they are" (Ⅲ.Ⅱ.33-34) but he can not underestimate a fearless man who bears the strength and wisdom of love and mercy.

Macbeth shows great courage on the battlefield as a man who "disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel / which smoked with bloody execution / like valor's minion carved out his passage" (Ⅰ. Ⅱ.17-19). Thus many people argue that Macbeth is "A great warrior, somewhat masterful, rough, and abrupt. A man to ignore fear and owns much admiration" (Bradley 351). However, the braveness on the battlef eld is only an outer cover for Macbeth's inner weakness as he has to seek the balance of life and gain a kind of sense of achievement. A completely terrified inner heart often employs extreme deeds to stabilize itself and the more brutal his action is, the weaker his inner world is reflected. When Macduff tells Macbeth that he was untimely ripped from his mother, the f rst reaction of Macbeth is "it hath cowed my better part of man" (Ⅴ. Ⅷ.18) and that "I'll not f ght with thee" (Ⅴ. Ⅷ.22). The heroic actions of "disdaining fortune" on the battlefield completely vanishes at this moment and changes into coward acts, trying to run away from fortune and death. These words are from the instinct of Macbeth in times of his deepest depression and thus could prove his character better than any other words. His first reaction faced with fate is not disdaining it or like valor's minion carving out his passage, but rather escaping from it, trying to save himself by not f ghting with Macduff.

"Macbeth is peremptory and contemptuous to his inferiors" (Bradley 350). He uses "hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs" (Ⅲ. Ⅰ.92) to classify the murders who are, from his selfish standpoint, lower class pathetic people. The selfish Macbeth shows extreme impatience when he interrupts the first murder’s words "though our lives..." (Ⅲ. Ⅰ.127) as he cares only about himself and his dark plots of achieving his own security. Even when Lady Macbeth passes away Macbeth only says "she should have died hereafter" (Ⅴ.Ⅴ.16). Just as Mary McCarthy put it, "Yet once she has ceased to be effectual as a partner, dearest love is an embarrassment" (McCarthy 5). Macbeth's loss of masculinity is clearly ref ected when the death of his wife brings him not the will to f ght against fate, but the desperation for life.

Macduff, however, is quite opposite from Macbeth as he treats people from all walks of life unself shly and therefore enjoys the balance of inner peace and courage. He calls the old porter friend and talks with him to hear his stories, he says "look to the lady" (Ⅱ. Ⅲ.121) when Lady Macbeth pretends to faint, he sighs at the sight of his poor country under the ravage of Macbeth. These all contrast greatly from Macbeth who employs manipulation and murdering on others from time to time.

One thing we should not neglect is that, a tyrant as he is, Macbeth employs the art of communication and spying. He takes advantage of good communication with Lady Macbeth to achieve his aim which turns out to be successful as Lady Macbeth helps him ease the deep fear brought by murdering Duncan and even finishes the planting of evidence for him. Macbeth has his men in all the lords' houses and before he plots his dirty work with the murders he says "Now go to the door, and stay there till we call" (Ⅲ. Ⅰ.73) to his servants to prevent them from knowing too much. These are Macbeth's special plots to further secure his current status under the mirage of keeping other people in his control.

Macduff, on the contrary, has the bitter taste of defective communication which not only keeps his wife suspicious of him at first but also pushes his whole innocent family to death as he did not think about their safety before leaving for England. A fearless man who is frank and forthright like him tends to think more for the kingdom and less for his own family while people like Macbeth takes advantage of their weaknesses to achieve his plots.

Macbeth and Macduff represent the black and white characters in human spirits. One is selfish, the other is open and aboveboard; one lacks inner masculinity, the other is a fearless warrior; one lives a tragic life darkened by wicked deeds while the other lives an ignited life decorated by braveness and love. Life is an arduous journey and in Macbeth, only those who bear the human virtues in mind get to rest in peace.

【Notes】

[1] All quotations come from this edition of Macbeth: William Shakespeare. Macbeth: Texts and Contexts. Ed. William C. Carroll. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.

【W(wǎng)orks Cited】

Bradley, A. C. Shakespearean tragedy: lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. 3rd. New York: St. Martin's, 1992.

Cunningham, Dolora G. "Macbeth: The Tragedy of the Hardened Heart." Shakespeare Quarterly , 1963,14(1),pp.39-47. JSTOR. Web. 25 Sept,2011.

McCarthy, Mary. "General Macbeth."Harper's Magazine, 1962,1338(1), pp.35-39.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth: Texts and Contexts. Ed. William C. Carroll. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.

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