Macduff (Macbeth)

This article is about the Shakespearean character. For the town in Scotland, see Banff and Macduff.

Macduff is a fictional character in Shakespeare's play Macbeth.

In the play

He is a Scottish nobleman loyal to King Duncan; when Macbeth usurps the throne, Macduff pledges to unseat him. When Macbeth begins to doubt Macduff's loyalty to him, he has Macduff's family slaughtered. He then becomes the leader of an army to overthrow Macbeth and replace him with the rightful king, Duncan's son Malcolm.

Macduff is the Thane of Fife, and flees to England to join up with Malcolm. He later fights Macbeth during the war to take back the throne. It had been prophesied that Macbeth could not be killed by any "man of woman born", but Macduff reveals he was born by Caesarean section, and so is able to kill him.

Historical roots

While Macduff is a fictional character, the MacDuff Clan were the most powerful family in Fife in the medieval ages. The ruins of Macduff's Castle now lie in East Wemyss cemetery.

Memorable Lines

• "Turn, hell-hound, turn!"
• "What, all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?"
• "Despair thy charm; and let the angel whom thou still hast served tell thee, Macduff was from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd."

Note that the common English saying, "Lead on, Macduff", meaning "Go ahead and I'll follow you" is a misquote of Macbeth's final lines in the play: "Lay on Macduff, and damn'd be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!'"