We began a discussion of Act IV by reviewing the play's motif of gender stereotypes and by beginning a character analysis of Malcolm , the heir apparent. We specifically examined MacDuff's protesting Malcolm's imploring MacDuff to act more "manly "even after MacDuff learns Macbeth has slaughtered his wife and son. We noted possible political motivations for Shakespeare's depicting Malcolm as unsympathetic given that Banquo,(whom Shakespeare paints as noble) not Malcolm , was King James' ancestor. Joshua noted the risqué scene in the opening of Act II and we discussed how the Puritanical attitudes associated with Oliver Cromwell 's England post date Shakespeare who did not shy away from sexual innuendo .