History TearJerker / Macbeth

** Also consider that Macbeth and his wife are shown to have a loving relationship during the play. At this point, however, Macbeth is so hopeless that he's even unable to express grief for Lady Macbeth's death. As evil as they were, the scene is still utterly saddening.

** When you take into consideration the marrying age in Medieval Scotland, the whole thing gets a lot more tragic, especially for Macduff. Women in Medieval Scotland could marry at age 12, boys at 14, and most married as teenagers. Macduff’s child is less than 10 years old, probably 8, meaning the poor man lost ''both'' his wife and child when he was around ''22 years old''. Not like you needed another reason to give the poor man a hug.
** Oh, for heaven's sake. This is a common historical myth, but there is very little basis to it. Yes, it was possible to marry very young, but such young marriages were ''very unusual'', even among the aristocracy, and the average age of marriage was in the late teens or early twenties for both sexes.

* Kurzel's Macbeth (2015) opens with [[AdultFear Macbeth and Lady Macbeth having a funeral for their dead child.]] Who looks only to be three-years-old.

** Oh, for heaven's sake. This is a common historical myth, but there is no historical basis to it. Yes, it was possible to marry very young, but such young marriages were ''very unusual'', even among the aristocracy, and the average age of marriage was in the late teens or early twenties for both sexes.

* Lady Macbeth has killed herself, Macbeth's people have abandoned him, he is considered a tyrant, and he is forced to kill many soldiers during a battle, and through these actions, he realizes how pointless it was. He becomes disillusioned with the idea of working so hard and betraying so many to become a king that no one respects, only to die some day, rendering all his efforts meaningless and going to his grave unwept and unsung.

** In the 2006 version, we get the lovely imagery of the killers shooting Macduff's [[WouldHurtAChild eight-year-old son multiple times]] while one of them [[MoralEventHorizon holds back his distraught wife and forces her to watch]]. Then, she gets ''strangled to death'' with RazorWire. And then, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Lady MacBeth finds out and realizes the full scale of what she's done...]]
* Macbeth showing that he can still feel remorse before his duel with Macduff, when he tells the latter to stand back because: "my soul is too much charged / With blood of thine already." Despite all the horrors he's perpetrated, he's not completely evil.

** In the 2006 version, we get the lovely imagery of the killers shooting Macduff's [[WouldHurtAChild eight-year-old son multiple times]] while one of them [[MoralEventHorizon holds back his distraught wife and forces her to watch]]. Then, she gets ''strangled to death'' with RazorWire.

* Macbeth showing that he can still feel remorse before his duel with Macduff, when he tells the latter to stand back because: "my soul is too much charged / With blood of thine already." Despite all the horrors he's perpetrated, he's not a CompleteMonster.

** In the 2006 version, we get the lovely imagery of the killers shooting Macduff's [[WouldHurtAChild eight-year-old son multiple times]] while one of them [[MoralEventHorizon holds back his distraught wife and forces her to watch]]. Then, she gets ''strangled to death'' with RazorWire.

** One production had Macduff staring in sheer disbelief and shock, then laughing when Malcolm says they'll get revenge, spitting back ''"He has no children."'' Then all at once he fell to his hand and knees and ''screamed,'' again and again.

* Macduff, when he learns that his family has been killed.

** ''All my pretty ones? Did you say all?''