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This video is a line-by-line walkthrough guide for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act 4, Scene 3 Part 1.
I provide a close reading of the entire scene, including: — Detailed explication — Commentary — Literary analysis
All commentary is supplemented by in-text, line-by-line study notes designed to help students: — Prepare for GCSE, A-Level, IB, and AP evaluation — Prepare for general high school and college quizzes, exams, and essays — Generate ideas for analysis essays — Participate knowledgeably in class discussions Click here to download the annotated text of Macbeth: https://sites.google.com/view/shakespeare-walkthrough/home
This video discusses :
PLOT: — In England, MacDuff tries to convince Malcolm to come back to Scotland to fight — Malcolm insists he is unfit to replace his father; this ploy is a test of MacDuff’s loyalty to Scotland and Malcolm — MacDuff’s heartfelt disappointment satisfies Malcolm, who announces that he has allies and 100,00 troops ready to march to Scotland — Ross arrives and informs MacDuff that his family has been murdered — MacDuff, Ross, and Malcolm agree that the proper response is womanly grief followed by manly resolve to exact justice
CHARACTER: — MacDuff: man of action; realist; incorruptible; loyal; self-sacrificing; guilty about family’s death — Malcolm: man of thought, careful deliberation; wise, not naive; worthy hero possessed of the kingly virtues: virgin, never perjured himself, not greedy, pious, loyal, honest (not serpent/flower); character foil for corrupt, narcissist king, Macbeth; complete man, possessing both feminine and masculine virtues — English king: holy; cures diseases, heals wasteland = character foil for satanic, wasteland-creating Macbeth
THEME: — The good ruler: kingly virtues; worthy hero, saviour; contrasts with previous scene’s depiction of corrupt wasteland, emphasizing the value of noble leadership — Thought (Malcolm) vs action (MacDuff) — Manhood = masculine+feminine; Malcolm insists on the validity of the feminine virtues of compassion — Self vs society: MacDuff’s conflict; duty to self/family vs duty to Scotland — Dualism: England as holy, in contrast to unholy Scotland — Great Chain of Being disruption leads to wasteland paranoia, denunciation, cynicism, fear, distrust among friends and family — Great Chain of Being: Kings were the conduit to God, could channel blessings — Tyrant’s willingness to burn the world; Cain’s spite
