Close Reading: Dialogue Between Macduff and Malcolm

Macduff:
Fit to govern?
No, not to live. — O nation miserable, 
With an untitled tyrant bloody-sceptered,
When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again,
Since that the truest issue of thy throne 
By his own interdiction stands accursed
And does blaspheme his breed? — Thy royal father
Was a most sainted king. The queen that bore thee,
Oft’ner upon her knees than on her feet,
Died every day she lived. Fare thee well.
These evils thou repeat’st upon thyself
Hath banished me from Scotland. — O my breast,
Thy hope ends here! (Act 4. Sc. 3)

In this passage, Macduff addresses Malcolm, King Duncan’s son. When Macduff begins speaking, he references a miserable nation that is not fit to live in. Going on to mention “an untitled tyrant bloody-sceptered,” which I can only assume he is referring to whoever is going on this killing spree (aka Macbeth). The word sceptered reminded me of scepter, but I did end up googling what the definition was, and it is simple another way to reference someone who is royalty. In Macduff’s eyes, it’s this unknown tyrant that is making the country a miserable place to live, he is not fit to govern, and surly not fit to live. 

The passage as a whole felt vaguely nostalgic, and the scene as a whole felt quite somber. The phrase, “when shalt thou see thy wholesome days again” feels to me like Macduff is longing for the past, when murders weren’t taking place every few scenes. Macduff then begins to reflects on King Duncan as well as Duncan’s queen, referring to Duncan as a “sainted king” and referring to the queen in ways that also reflect her saintliness, saying she was often on her knees rather than her feet. At first glance, I definitely took this line in an inappropriate way, however, given the context, I’m more inclined to think that her being on her knees is a religious reference to highlight her purity and goodness. In addition, the incorporation of the word blaspheme really emphasizes that religious or higher power image Macduff creates when describing Duncan and the queen.

I took the line “died every day she lived” in sort of a biblical way as well. Just how Jesus died for our sins, the queen made sacrifices every day for the ones she loved, even if it meant going above and beyond what she maybe was capable of.


Macduff then tells Malcolm goodbye, and that these evils, which Malcolm blames himself for happening, are what is banishing him from Scotland. I thought banish was an interesting word to choose, considering when someone is banished, you imagine they are never to return to wherever they are banished from again. Maybe he’s trying to enforce the fact that he’s kind of given up on his country, and his faith in Scotland is so dismal that he desires to leave and not to be associated with it again. Banish implies a sense of permanence, which I think also enforces how Macduff see's leaving as final, and something that cannot and will not be undone. 

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