Macduff

Thane of Fife
Personal Info
Relatives	MacDuff's Mother Lady Macduff (Wife) Macduff's Son
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Media
Play	Macbeth

A Scottish nobleman, Thane of Fife.

He has a family, including Lady Macduff and two young sons. His parents are mentioned, but both died prior to the events of the play.

Macduff is the foil and rival of Macbeth, ultimately taking Macbeth off the throne by force.

Macduff ventures to find Malcolm, the rightful King, after the murder of King Duncan and helps to raise an army so that Scotland may have a better, more righteous ruler than the violent and deceitful Macbeth. After Macbeth has his family murdered, his motivation increases and he takes on Macbeth in single combat, cutting off his head.

One of the Three Witches gave a prophecy 'none born of a woman shall harm Macbeth', which MacBeth construed as conferring invincibility upon himself, as he figured all people have mothers. In fact, the prophecy meant that no one who was born of the traditional feminine manner of birthing would attack MacBeth. MacDuff reveals when he was a baby, his mother went into complications and died soon afterwards. His method of entering the world was by a ceasarian section, and as such was not "woman born". Ergo, the prophecy was true. MacDuff wins the final battle by mortally wounding MacBeth. Afterwards, the men under his command give three cheers that MacBeth's misrule is over, and give three cheers for MacDuff, their new king.

MacDuff is the antagonist of the play, who kills the protagonist. His antagonism stems from rivalry and that while he is noble, his family was a house of low rank. Part of what makes MacBeth a tragedy is that a patriarch from a lower house wins the kingship. MacBeth was not a man of pure evil. if he was, Shakespeare's play would not have been a tragedy. However, unlike Shakespeare's other tragedies, this one ends on a rowdier theme, in this case MacBeth and his rebels celebrating their successful dethroning of the king.