I doubt some danger does approach you nearly: / If you will take a homely man’s advice, / Be not found here; hence, with your little ones.
Act IV, Scene 2
Context
An unknown messenger suddenly enters Macduff's castle and urges Lady Macduff to flee immediately with her children, warning that danger is approaching, then exits before she can respond.
Analysis
The messenger's oxymoronic self-description—"To fright you thus, methinks, I am too savage; / To do worse to you were fell cruelty"—indicates he is caught between two cruelties: terrifying her with the warning or letting her die ignorant. His plain diction ("homely man's advice") contrasts with his urgent, fragmented syntax, suggesting someone from outside the court who sees danger more clearly than those within it.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Shakespeare uses minor characters to reveal moral complexity in desperate times—the messenger's brief appearance demonstrates that even under tyranny, individual conscience can break through hierarchical silence, though too late to matter.