describe the situation in Scotland and during Macbeth 's reign as macduff described?
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How has Scotland changed under Macbeth's rule?
TOPIC: MACBETH
Asked on May 8, 2009 at 4:25 PM by raheelahmed
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2 Answers | Add Yours
kc4u | College Teacher | (Level 3) Valedictorian
Posted on May 8, 2009 at 7:02 PM
Under Macbeth's rule, Scotland changed for the worse. Macbeth killed the good old king Duncan, and Duncan's sons, Malcolm & Donalbin, escaped to England & Ireland respectively for their safety. Constantly suffering from a guilty conscience & a deep psychological fear, Macbeth proves to be a cruel, tyrannical king, haunted by the prophecy that Banquo's issues would be the future kings. Murderers appointed by him kill Banquo & attempt to kill Banquo's son, Fleance. Subsequently, Macbeth gets the family of Macduff killed. As Macbeth moves from fear to fear, he unleashes a reign of terror in Scotland, killing wholesale whomsoever he doubts to be his enemy and therefore, a traitor.
In act3 sc.6, a Lord, while in conversation with Lennox, refers to Macduff's visit to the court of the English king to initiate a military campaign against Macbeth so that life returns to normal: '.......we may again / Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights, / Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives, / Do faithful homage and receive free honours:/ All which we pine for now'.
Ross, talking to Lady Macduff in act4 sc.2, uses the analogy of a voyage to suggest the state of affairs in Scotland under Macbeth's rule: 'But cruel are the times, when we are traitors/ And do not know ourselves, when we hold rumour / From what we fear, yet know not what we fear, / But float upon a wild and violent sea / Each way and move'.
How Scotland changed under the despotic violence of Macbeth is best expressed in the Macduff-Macbeth conversation in act4 sc.3. We hear Macduff say, 'Each new morn / New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows / Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds/ As if it felt with Scotland and yell'd out / Like syllables of dolour'. Malcolm responds in the similar vein of melancholy anguish:'I think our country sinks beneath the yoke;/ It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash / Is added to her wounds...' Later in the same scene, Ross describes the deplorable state of Scotland in highly coloured language:
" It cannot
Be call'd our mother, but our grave; where nothing,
But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile;
Where sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air
Are made, not mark'd; where violent sorrow seems
A modern ecstasy; the dead man's knell
Is there scarce ask'd for who; and good men's lives
Expire before the flowers in their caps,
Dying or ere they sicken".
I assume that you are talking about Act IV, Scene 3 here. In this scene, Macduff and Malcolm are in England, talking about how things are in Scotland. The basic idea of their conversation is that things in Scotland have gotten much worse under Macbeth's rule.
You can see this from the very first words of the scene. They say that everyday people are dying -- there are new widows and new orphans -- and that this slaughter is making Scotland feel a great deal of pain.
They blame this and all of Scotland's woes on Macbeth. They say he is a tyrant and that "each new day a gash is added to her (Scotland's) wounds (46).
Malcolm says that they are going to weep over Scotland, and Macduff tells him there are problems in Scotland.
Let us rather
Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men
Bestride our downfall'n birthdom. Each new morn(5)
New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows
Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds
As if it felt with Scotland and yell'd out
Like syllable of dolor. (Act 4, Scene 3)
Basically, he is colorfully describing how the country is going to the dogs. Apparently with Macbeth in charge and the influence of the witches, there are a lot of supernatural occurrences that are just terrible. We have moved from horses devouring each other to constant crying over the state of the country.
Macduff is a noble and loyal countryman. He supports Malcolm and his country. He is not interested only in revenge, even after he learns about his family's murder. He wants to help Malcolm return to his rightful place at the throne to prevent the bloody tyrant from destroying the country further. Ultimately, he is one of the reaons they are successful, because he is the one who kills Macbeth.