Malcolm tests Macduff’s loyalty by telling him that he is greedy, dishonest, and possesses virtually every vice. Malcolm then comments that a good king must be devoted, merciful, honest, and courageous.

I do think Malcolm would make a good king. Although he is young, he is unusually clever and level-headed. He leaves the kingdom to gather an army when Macbeth kills his father, and then he tempts Macduff by suggesting that he would make a horrible king, in order to see if he can really trust Macduff. He decides he can.

In act IV, scene iii, Malcolm describes what he calls “The King-becoming Graces” these are, “As Justice, verity, temperance, stableness, bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, devotion, patience, courage, fortitude.” At the time, Malcolm is trying to test Macduff, to see if Scotland wants him to return because of his …

Malcolm’s rightful rule has been restored. Malcolm assures everyone that peace will be restored to Scotland, and he rewards those who helped defeat Macbeth by giving them the title of Earl.

Macduff is able to kill Macbeth despite the witches prophecy that he will not die by any man born of woman, because Macduff was born via cesarean, thus he was not born the “normal” way a man/human is born.

The witches told Macbeth to “beware Macduff,” and when Macbeth learns that Macduff has gone to England to help Malcolm (Duncan’s son) rally an army to return to Scotland and defeat Macbeth, he hires murderers to kill Macduff’s family, thinking that this will cause Macduff to submit out of fear and grief.

In Act IV, Scene II of Macbeth, a number of henchmen arrive at the Macduff castle in Fife with orders to kill Lady Macduff and her son. On witnessing this violence, his mother flees the castle, shouting “murder,” but the henchmen give chase and there can be no doubt that she is quickly captured and killed.

In Scene 2, Lady Macduff complains about her husband and how he is a coward for leaving his family. She is angry and believes that “when our actions do not, our fears make us traitors” (4.2. 5), meaning she thinks he ran away to England out of cowardice, and that makes him a traitor to his family.

In Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” the Macduffs are foils to the Macbeths because the Macduffs are good, heroic characters, and the Macbeths are evil-oriented people. Macbeth is only loyal to himself, while Macduff gets tested, and proven to be loyal to Scotland and the king. Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff are also foils.

Banquo

The character of Lady Macduff foils Lady Macbeth in her lack ambition, her genuine love of family life and her devotion to her husband. Lady Macbeth is purportedly a loving wife to her husband. It is also said that they are complimentary, in that Macbeth has ideas and Lady Macbeth forces him into action.

A literary foil is a character whose purpose is to accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of another character, most often the protagonist. This literary term is named after an old jewelry trick of setting a gem on a foil base to enhance its shine.

A character that exhibits opposite or conflicting traits to another character is called a foil. Foil characters can be antagonists, but not always. Sometimes, foils will even be other characters alongside the protagonist.

In the Harry Potter series, Draco Malfoy can be seen as a foil to the Harry Potter character; Professor Snape enables both characters “to experience the essential adventures of self-determination” but they make different choices; Harry chooses to oppose Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters wholeheartedly, whereas Draco …

Mercutio, the witty skeptic, is a foil for Romeo, the young Petrarchan lover. Mercutio mocks Romeo’s vision of love and the poetic devices he uses to express his emotions: Romeo, Humors! Mercutio is an anti-romantic character who, like Juliet’s Nurse, regards love as an exclusively physical pursuit.

A foil character is one that has traits that are opposite of another character – being melancholy to the other’s happiness, for example, or extroverted to the other’s introverted nature. Foil characters are sometimes used as comic relief, especially in tragedies such as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Rosaline

In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet can be considered as a Tragic Hero. Juliet was willing to sacrifice her life in order to be with Romeo. Her tragic flaw is her loyalty to Romeo. She loves Romeo so much and she is very loyal to him, to the point that she could not stand to be without him.