Macbeth Act IV Scene 2 Summary
Plot Summary / Story-line
At Macduff's castle in Fife, Lady Macduff confronts Ross, Macduff's kinsman, demanding to understand why her husband has fled Scotland. She feels abandoned and betrayed. Ross attempts to reassure her, insisting that Macduff's departure was prudent given Macbeth's tyranny, and then departs reluctantly.
Alone with her son, Lady Macduff tells the boy that his father is dead, though the perceptive child argues logically that he cannot be dead if his mother would not lie. The two engage in a poignant exchange where Lady Macduff's bitterness and the boy's innocent wisdom create a painful contrast.
Suddenly, a messenger rushes in, warning Lady Macduff that she is in grave danger and urging her to flee immediately. Lady Macduff protests, insisting she has committed no treason and therefore should be safe. However, a group of murderers enters. When one murderer calls Macduff a traitor, the boy courageously defends his father's honor, calling the murderer a liar. The murderer, infuriated by the child's defiance, stabs him. Lady Macduff screams and runs, pursued by the murderers, who exit chasing her.
Commentary on Act IV, Scene ii
This harrowing scene crystallizes the moral horror of Macbeth's tyranny and represents the nadir of his crimes. The murder of innocent women and children—acts entirely removed from political necessity—exposes Macbeth's descent into pure malevolence.
Lady Macduff's initial scene with Ross establishes her as a sympathetic character, a woman abandoned by circumstance rather than through her husband's callousness. Her subsequent conversation with her son, while tinged with maternal bitterness about Macduff's flight, reveals her love for her family and her inability to comprehend the depths of Macbeth's evil.
The child's naive but logical defense of his father ("if he were dead, you would weep for him") provides heartbreaking innocence in contrast to the surrounding violence. The boy's courageous response to the murderer—calling him a liar when he slanders Macduff—demonstrates that moral courage can exist even in the most vulnerable. His murder is particularly devastating because it represents the destruction of innocence itself.
The scene serves multiple dramatic functions: it reveals the full extent of Macbeth's moral corruption, it explains Macduff's subsequent motivation for revenge, and it demonstrates that Macbeth's rule has become indistinguishable from tyranny and terrorism. The apparent ease with which murderers gain access to Macduff's castle suggests that Macbeth's control, while brutal, is fragile—built on fear rather than loyalty.