Act 5 Scene 8 Commentary 


Macbeth’s final moments are as bloody and violent as his life was. However, as Macbeth encounters Macduff he seems reluctant to fight him: ‘But get thee back; my soul is too much charged /With blood of thine already’. Some commentators argue that Macbeth has the first of the apparition’swarning inmind: ‘BewareMacduff!’ and is therefore eager to avoid a battle with Macduff. However this does not fit neatly with Macbeth’s later boast to Macduff that he can only be hurt by ‘one of woman born’. Many commentators see Macbeth’s reluctance to fight Macduff as an expression of guilt for murdering Macduff’s family.


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Macbeth attempts to hold onto his pride in his final moments: ‘I will not yield, / To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet, / And to be baited with the rabble's curse .’ Rather than be mocked and tortured, Macbeth chooses to ‘try the last’ and fight to the death. Considering Macbeth’s hopelessness in Scene 5 and his moral collapse throughout the play, it is perhaps unsurprising that he embraces death at the end. This arouses great sympathy in the audience.


Questions 1. Why does Macbeth refer to the witches as ‘jugglingfiends’?


2. What evidence is there in this scene that Macbeth feels guilt for the murder of Macduff’s family?


3. Why does Macbeth fight to the death rather than give up?


4. Macbeth has changed throughout the course of the play. However, are there any similarities between Macbeth in this final scene and the Macbeth that is discussed in Act 1, Scene 2?


5. Do you feel pity for Macbeth at the end of this scene? Explain your answer by referring to the play.


6. Some productions have Macbeth killed offstage and Macduff returning to the stage with Macbeth’s severed head in Scene 9. What is the advantage of this?


Macbeth


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