Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, has eight motifs that are seen throughout the play - darkness, sleeplessness, blood, parent/child relationships, nature out of order, loyalty/treachery, and magic. These motifs, along with rhyming and soliloquy in the play, warn you to take notice of the passage you're reading because it's important. The parent/child motif is intriguing because there are allusions to Lady Macbeth having a son throughout the play. If this were true, then the witches' predictions would be false because Banquo wouldn't start a line of kings; Macbeth would. There also relationships between Malcolm and Duncan, and Macduff and his son.
Lady Macbeth's alleged son is first introduced in Act 1 Scene 5 Line 18(A1 S5 L18) when she first mentions her milk. These mentions of milk in the play are directed towards her supposed kid. The next is A1 S5 L48, when she says to turn her milk to gall, or make her kindness into bitterness so she can go through with the plan to kill the king. The next is A1 S7 L54 when she's ripping on Macbeth and says "How tender 'tis the babe that milks me: / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, / And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you / Have done this." This is when she's getting Macbeth whipped into a frenzy by questioning his courage, which not a smart thing to do to a Scottish warrior. In A2 S2 L53 she says only a child is scared of a painted devil, as opposed to a real one, and she is once again ripping Macbeth a new one. Lady Macbeth mentions a child many times, making it a great mystery of Shakespeare's works.
The Duncan/Malcolm relationship is quite short-lived because Duncan is killed near the start of the play and they only speak to each other once. Duncan is the King of Scotland but he's long past his prime. He's always asking questions because he can't figure anything out for himself, and he gets the wrong perceptions of things sometimes. For instance, when he enters Macbeth's dark, gloomy castle he says "This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle senses." Malcolm is his young son who's inexperienced in the ways of ruling and makes Macbeth mad when he is named heir to the throne. But, by the end of the play, Malcolm has grown to become a great warrior with good judgement and the rightful King of Scotland.
Macduff's relationship with his son is also small because the son is only in one scene and during that scene he is killed. The son's dialogue with Lady Macduff, starting in A4 S2 L1, shows that he liked his father because he says he would have to live on whatever he could without him, and it would be hard to survive without him. Macduff is a good father because he blames himself for the death of his family when Macbeth has them killed. He is almost overcome with grief but he sticks it out and swears revenge on Macbeth. In A4 S3 L220 Malcolm says of the death of Macduff's family, "Dispute it like a man." Macduff replies "I shall do so; / But I must also feel it as a man. / I cannot but remember such things were, / That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on, / And would not take their part? Sinful Macduff, / They were all struck for thee! Naught that I am, / Not for their own demerits but for mine / Fell slaughter on their souls. Heaven rest them now!"
It seems that whenever Lady Macbeth mentions her child she is somehow degrading Macbeth. She always praises her own courage and virtues in connection with the child. This may be to cover for her mistake when she did whatever she did to make the child disappear. The Duncan/Malcolm relationship has got change in it because Malcolm changes from kid to King and Duncan also changes from senile old man to being seen as a relatively good king, compared to Macbeth. In Macduff's son you find a witty child who's sassing his mom, but when the murderers appear he becomes courageous and is killed while helping his mother escape. This play is full of changes in the characters, big or small, and it's plot is very deep and intriguing.
