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Macduff Passage Analysis

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In the beginning of the scene, Macduff’s wife is having a conversation with Ross about Macduff’s flee from Scotland. After Ross leaves the scene, Macduff’s wife tells her son that his father is dead. The two go on about what they’ll do and how they’ll live since Macduff is gone (Shakespeare 4.2.1-61). She sees the escape of Macduff as a lack of love for the family and an act of a coward. As their conversation develops, she speaks of her husband in a nonchalant manner like he no longer means anything to her. However, at the same time she seems to be more angered that she can no longer trust him. He is no longer the head of the family but just a traitor. She chooses to stop having any lingering hope for Macduff’s return. There seems to be a correlation …show more content…

In the beginning of the scene, Macduff’s wife chooses the word “fly” and “flight” to describe the escape of Macduff. Both words are both characteristics of birds. When a bird flies, it is supposed to symbolize freedom. However, in this passage, the condition is that given a bird has a family, the bird will be strictly immobile when there is a risk of danger. The bird will not make any individual moves knowing that it can be dangerous for its family. The bird will fight where its fear is at. Macduff’s wife asks her son how he will live since his father is dead. His son says he will live like a bird. Macduff’s wife makes a comment about birds that seem to be pitying and envying them at the same time. “Poor bird, thou’dst never fear the net nor lime, / The pitfall nor the gin” (Shakespeare 4.2. 34-5). These are traps set up for birds. Birds don’t even know how to be afraid of these traps. She appears to be making an indirect comparison between her husband and the birds. She wishes her husband could face his own fears even if he doesn’t know what to be fearful of. And even if he has knowledge of what his fears are, he should just face it like a

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This quote shows that the bird is treated very unfairly and that the bird no longer has power. Also, the bird’s wings give it freedom to fly and survive in the wild, which it no longer has. This is an example of how power can be often abused, when put in the hands of the wrong people. Thus, the birds power and freedom has been taken away from it, becasue someone could not control their

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This illustrates the degree of emotional abuse Mrs. Wright experienced under her husband’s control. On the other hand, Glaspell utilizes the birdcage, which represents marriage, to show how Mrs. Wright was trapped in her marriage and could not escape it. For example, when Mrs. Peters was looking for clothes they are taking to the jail for Mrs. Wright, they discovered an empty birdcage in a cupboard (Glaspell

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The scene begins to unfolds in their minds. Mr. Wright yanking open the cage door, taking out the bird, and breaking its fragile neck was enough to make Mrs. Wright lash out, and in a heat of passion, kill her husband. As the trifles collect,  the women worry that the men will see their findings, and have what they need to prove Mrs. Wright guilty. Though the men believe her to be the murderer, the women are trying their best to hide the evidence that will prove it.

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The men of the group, much like John in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” consider themselves more capable than the women and refuse to consider Mrs. Wright as anything other than irrational. The men leave the women to their “trifles” on the first floor, where they discover a broken bird cage, and the bird’s body, broken, carefully wrapped in a small, decorative box. They realize that Mr. Wright had wrung the neck of his wife’s beloved bird and broken its cage. Mrs. Wright, once known for her cheerfulness and beautiful singing, she stopped singing when she encountered Mr. Wright. Just like he did with the bird, Mr. Wright choked the life out of his wife until, finally, Mrs. Wright literally choked the life out of her husband.

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Whereas, Lady Macduff encouraged her family to be loyal to King Duncan and to his sons, the rightful rulers of Scotland. Lady Macduff is a strong and a loving mother. After her conversation with Ross, in which he tells her that Macduff has fled the country, we see her close relationship with her son when she tells him; because she is furious that Macduff has left them alone, that his father is dead. Even though she doesn’t believe her husband is a traitor. We see her devotion to Macduff when asked by the murders where he is she replies; “I hope, in place so unsanctified, Where such as thou may’st find him.”

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in Schanfield 1656). In the text, Glaspell insist on Mrs. Wright being identification as a “songbird” before she married John Wright (Schanfield 1655). Glaspell chose to do this so the audience can see how an independent woman is happier and better off alone. As her marriage played out with Mr. Wright she slowly morphed into the mold a woman was forced to fit into. In “A Jury of Her Peers” Mrs. Hale (referring to Mrs. Wrights singing and happiness in the context of the bird) said, “No, [Mr.] Wright wouldn't like the bird… a thing that sang” she went on to say “She used to sing.

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While the perception of the reader remains the same, the narrator’s perception of the bird becomes more jumbled and insane when he starts asking questions like “is there balm in Gilead? (line 89)”. His troubled mind seeks for relief from the bird . Also he is asks if there is a balm that can heal anything, and if he will ever be able to embrace Lenore again. When relief of grief doesn’t come the image of the bird changes to a prophet possibly sent from the devil.

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This illustrates how evil the kingdom of Scotland has become. Lady Macduff references, Macduff refers to Macbeth as a hell-kite that killed all of his chickens, after Macbeth killed Macduff’s family. A hell-kite is a

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Macduff openly admits that Malcolm would make and unsuccessful king. Instead of lying to Malcolm to make him feel better about himself, Macduff tells him the truth. This proves to Malcolm that Macduff could be trusted in their plot against Macbeth. This act of loyalty differs from Lady Macbeth who lies to her son about his father, Macduff. Lady Macbeth tells him, “Sirrah, your father’s dead; and what will you now?

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By placing the bird so high up, yet incredibly close to the family, it can be taken as a warning. The bird only appears in this single line throughout the excerpt, acting as an observer but also as a predator waiting for a chance to strike, providing an unsettling truth to death being out of our control. Though many efforts may be made to create a sanctuary, there are things out of one's control and when power is exercised, there will be forces fighting back. The opening sections of the novel A Bird in the House demonstrate this clearly by how Margarets Laurence's’ use of literary devices can be interpreted.

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Only because she knew his kindness wouldn't just let him kill for no reason at all. As you can see that her doing forced her husband to kill the king and she felt better of herself because she was able to talk him into doing what she wants. When one man tells another man to do something as if is a man it would push that man to try his hardest to be better than the next man. Later in the play Macbeth during act four Malcolm tells Macduff to do something like a men. He said “ Despute it like a man.

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Grandpa was the seam of our family; he helped keep my family close together. When he died, the seam was lost, thus making my family not as close. Grandpa used to take my cousin and me out a lot to eat, walk around the mall, or just hang out together at Grandpa's house. We would see each other a few times a week. Now, my cousin and I don't talk as much as we used to.

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Oftentimes, birds are used to create false hope. As the play opens, Duncan asks an injured captain about Macbeth’s battle with the rebel Macdonwald, to which the captain responds that Macbeth was as scared by the enemy “[a]s sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion” (I.2.35).

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1605 Words | 7 Pages

In his story, he develops the plot gradually. The beginning of the story starts off with symbolism and metaphorical language. He carefully chose his words and intend the reader to read lines symbolically. He uses a bird to represent their feelings and thoughts. Example is when the lead character uttered that he filled his heart with “macaw” that squawked out of his throat, “liar”.

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The oppression is binding the bird to its cage while the bird hopes and prays that someone will hear him so that he can leave this maiming tyranny. In addition in “Caged Bird” the bird is singing with mighty voice that was conceived by the rage that the bird felt toward the oppression that was trapping it. The tune that the bird sings is described as, “The caged bird sings,/ with a fearful trill,/ of things unknown”(Angelou, 30-32). The bird is illustrating the anger that it felt, by fighting the tyranny that he is facing. The tyranny is holding him down and the rage that the bird feels from this pain is what the bird symbolizes.

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