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Macbeth Act 4 Analysis

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Act four, scene two, is a very important piece of the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In this scene, Macbeth has Macduff’s wife, children, and others in his castle killed while Macduff is in England. This is the pivotal moment in the play because now Macduff and Macbeth have to fight. By some, this is viewed as the climax because it is essentially the last straw. In this scene, people are exposed to just how awful Macbeth is. For him to kill a man’s wife and children while his castle is unprotected, is the lowest of the low. This is so horrible because Macduff’s wife and child are innocent and are no threat to Macbeth. At this point, Macbeth is killing for amusement. Also, in this scene, Lady Macduff and her son have a conversation. In this exchange, the two say very ironic last words. In act four, scene two, there are three important messages that relate to the rest of the play; manhood, madness, and foul and fair. The first important theme in act …show more content…

In the opening lines of act four, scene two, Lady Macduff says,”He had none; his flight was madness. When our actions do not, our fears make us traitors.” She is saying that it was crazy for Macduff to leave and begins to think he is a traitor. The theme of madness also relates to other parts of the play. In act three, scene two, Macbeth says to Lady Macbeth, “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! Thou know’st that Banquo, and his Fleance lives.” At this point in the play, Macbeth is so bothered by the person he has become that he can’t sleep. He feels like there are scorpions in his brain. Macbeth has gone mad and is not the same hero he was in the beginning of the play. In fact, he is the very opposite. He has become a serial killer and is getting ready to commit another murder by killing his best friend. Why? Because he talks himself into believing that it is the right thing to

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