Act 4 Scene 3 Key Quotations


MALCOLM ...all things foul would wear the brows of grace, / Yet grace must still look so. MALCOLM The grief that does not speak /Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.


MACDUFF SinfulMacduff, They were all struck for thee! Naught that I am, Not for their own demerits, but for mine, Fell slaughter on their souls.


Commentary 


In this scene, Malcolm displays himself as a prudent character in his testing of Macduff’s loyalty. He recognises that both good and evil individuals may appear good: ‘all things foul would wear the brows of grace, /Yet grace must still look so’. Malcolm reveals himself to be less trusting of those around him than Duncan was. Although a good king, Duncan was too trusting of both the former Thane of Cawdor and of Macbeth himself. In contrast, Malcolmis cautious of Macduff and slow to place his trust in him. It should be noted how transparent Malcolm’s test of Macduff is and how Macduff lacks the insight to see through it.





The scene comments on the idea of kingship. A highly complimentary image of the English King, Edward the Confessor, is provided. Edward is depicted as blessed with divine healing powers:


‘With this strange virtue, He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy, And sundry blessings hang about his throne, That speak him full of grace’


This contrasts with the portrayal of Macbeth as an agent of hell whose actions, ‘Strike heaven on the face’. Macduff clearly aligns Macbeth with hell: ‘Not in the legions / Of horrid hell can come a devilmore damned / In evils to top Macbeth’. Shakespeare is keen to reinforce the idea of the King as God’s natural representative on earth. This is done by contrasting the divinely inspired Edward and the devilish Macbeth.


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Malcolm asks Macduff why he left his family so vulnerable to attack. The question is never answered. Some commentators feel thatMacduff puts the good of Scotland above the security of his family and that this is a sign of his unwavering loyalty. Others see it as a character flaw. Macduff himself echoes this sentiment when he blames himself for their deaths: ‘Sinful Macduff, / They were all struck for thee! Naught that I am, / Not for their own demerits, but for mine, / Fell slaughter on their souls.’





The discussion of what it means to be a man is explored in this scene.When Macduff learns that his family have been murdered he is naturally upset. Malcolm encourages him to express his sorrow openly, arguing that unexpressed grief will destroy the heart: ‘The grief that does not speak / Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.’ As Macduff weeps, Malcolm tells himto ‘Dispute it like aman’.Macduff replies that hewill, but hemust also ‘feel it as aman’. Macduff then expresses a typical ‘manly’ thirst for revenge and promises to kill Macbeth.


106


Macbeth


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