Young McDuff

Character Sketch: Young Macduff a.k.a "son"

In William Shakespeares "Macbeth", an epic play about blood, glory and pride, Young Mcduff's tragic yet heroic lifestory is revealed. His father of course is Macduff, one of Scotland's most prestigous nobleman, and his mother is Lady Macduff. Macduff was very close to King Duncan and after his untimely death, he always had his suspicions about Macbeth. He chose not to join Macbeth's coronation and later fled Scotland as a traitor leaving his family alone in a ruthless and chaotic country that Scotland had become known for. These actions led to his family having to fend for themselves and eventually being killed by murderers sent by Macbeth.

Young Macduff was killed by murderer's sent by Macbeth. This was Macbeth's attempt to essentially keep Macduff on his heels. This backfired because Macduff vowed to kill Macbeth, and as we all know he kept true to his promise.

Moreover, Young Macduff only appears in the play briefly and it is in his own murder scene. He looks to be a young lad that is a little big for his age, and thus is treated more like a man by people he encounters. He is an average looking boy that dresses in earthy toned robes that represent his down to earth attitude. Young Macduff's character is one that is charcterized not by his appearance but more so by his inner being. Infact his name in the play's script is simply "son". I feal this was Shakespeare truly giving Young Macduff a name that is a definition of his character. He is a son that shows great passion and love for his family and is driven to succeed largely in part to this passion. He is also witty, courageous, and intelligent, a potent combination not only for a child but for a man.

Furthermore, young Macduff's intelligent and witt shines amazingly bright during his last conversation. When his mother tells him that his father was a traitor, and traitors are liars that get hanged by the honest men. He replies to Lady Macbeth by telling her that the traitors must be stupid because there are easily enough traitors to join and hang the honest men. Later he denounces his mother's statement that his father is dead by telling her that if his father truly had been killed she would be crying and since she was not crying it must be a good sign. Both these statements show Young Macduff's witt and intelect, but his most important characteristic is his courageous love for his family. Even when his own murderer's spoke ill of his father he snaped and insulted them by calling them shag-eared vilians. That leads me to his most courageous and significant line in the play. "He has killed me, mother. Run away, I pray you!" (IV,II, ll.90-91). This line shows the essence of his courage and love for his family. Even while he is being brutally slayed he looks out for his family and want's them to be saved. He makes an emotional plea to his mother to flea for she is probably the next one