When it was Macbeth's duty to protect Duncan, he murdered him. He proved himself to be an adept actor when he slipped past Banquo, his friend, and the one person who should have been able to see through him to what his true intentions were. When Lady Macbeth advised, "Sleek o'er your rugged looks / be bright and jovial among your guests," Act III, Scene 2, Lines 28 and 29 Macbeth took her words to heart and became an excellent master of the art. Macduff, on the other hand, had used his own ambition to bring justice to his country and kinsmen, not to attain personal triumph. Macduff’s patriotic exclamations of "O Scotland, Scotland! / …O nation miserable! / …(and) O my breast, / thy hope ends here!" Act IV, Scene 3 Lines 100,104, 113-114 bear proof of his integrity. We find that the Good often possess the qualities of nobility, sincerity, and righteousness and thus prevail as these traits draw the honest loyalty of others towards them.
In this play, it is the original tragedies that have the greatest effect on both the characters of Macduff and Macbeth; the latter is hobbled by the experience, the former is fortified. When Macbeth assassinated Duncan, he was not numbed so much by grief as by repentance. This becomes clearly evident when he exclaims, "Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou could’st!" Act II, Scene 2, Line 74 Macbeth’s primary reaction to the murder of Duncan was guilt, for later his conscience would disturb him so that he could not sleep; he stating, "Glamis hath murdered sleep…/ Macbeth shall sleep no more." Act II, Scene 2, Lines 42 and 43When Macduff left Scotland to seek out the assistance of England and Malcolm, he left his family prey to the malicious Macbeth. As Macduff learned of their murder, his immediate reaction was one of profound grief. Malcolm advised him to "Dispute it like a man," Act IV, Scene 3, Line 219 to which Macduff sincerely replied, "I shall do so; / but I must also feel it as a man." Act IV, Scene 3, Line 220-221 Macduff suffered unimaginable grief at the loss of his family, while Macbeth felt little grief towards the murder of Duncan. Macbeth, tormented by his conscience, became racked with guilt while Macduff felt little guilt at the death of his family. "Sinful Macduff, /" he called himself, "They were all struck for thee!" Act IV, Scene 3, Lines 224-225, This statement, however, sprang from a bleeding heart rather than a condemning conscience.
Both Macduff and Macbeth had those about them who gave advice in their time of need. Macduff had Malcolm, young but wise, who counseled Macbeth to "blunt not the heart, enrage it." Act IV, Scene 3, Line 229 Macbeth had his wife, who in turn admonished him not "to think / so brainsickly of things." Act II, Scene 2, Lines 45-46 Just as Lady Macbeth bid her husband to keep his guilt hidden, Malcolm proffered a shoulder to cry on for Macduff, asserting, "Grief that does not speak / whispers the…heart and bids it break." Act IV, Scene 3, Lines 209-210 We see the dire effects of hiding from one’s emotions as Macbeth eventually loses his very senses to his guilt, remarking, "I have supp’d full with horrors; / Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, / cannot once start me." Act V, Scene 5, Lines 13-15 We find that the Good do not dwell on their guilt. Instead, they utilize their grief to "prick (them) to redress." Julius Caesar Their ability to convert their anguish into useful energy, aided by the wise counsel of comforting friends, allows our literary heroes to avoid the dangerous snare of haunting consciences and felling sorrow.
The play, Macbeth, is mainly a study of the development of "Bad’ in the title character. If we were to regard the play as an experiment, Macbeth would be the variable and Macduff the control. Shakespeare’s experiment was conducted in order to discern whether one was ‘Good’ or ‘Bad’ from within or if such traits could be developed by outside influences. In order to conduct this experiment Shakespeare needed two characters, both similar in mettle; he created Macduff and Macbeth. In the Sergeant’s exposition speech Macbeth was described as "brave" Act I, Scene 2, Line 16 and "like valour’s minion" Act 1, Scene 2, Line 19 proving him to be the equal of Macduff. However, Macbeth had one fatal flaw, ambition. This trait would not be awakened until triggered by the mischievous witches. So hidden was this fault in Macbeth that he himself physically jumped in surprise at its activation; Banquo noticed this and asked him, "Why do you start (?)" Act I, Scene 3, Line 51 Not long after this, Macbeth’s infant ambition had already turned his thoughts to murder, he stating, "My thought whose murder is yet but fantastical." Act I, Scene 3, Line 139 However, the Good in Macbeth is reluctant to give up its now tenuous hold on him and morality feebly tries to reason with Macbeth in hope of barring his path to corruption. It rationalizes that he is a "subject" Act I, Scene 7, Line 13 of Duncan’s and therefore should not rise against his master. Also, that he is Duncan’s "host" Act I, Scene 7, Line 14 and it is his duty to protect Duncan from harm. Thirdly, Duncan is a good king and should he be murdered his "virtues / (would) plead like angels" Act I, Scene 7, Line 18-19 against such a crime. Shakespeare found that he needed to push his character a little further and thus called in the assistance of Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, to appeal to his pride. She asked Macbeth if he could bear to "live a coward" Act I, Scene 7, Line 43 (in her eyes) should he not have the strength to follow his ambition. Macbeth, sickened by what he was about to do, could only mournfully remark, "I have no spur / to prick the sides of my intent, but only / vaulting ambition." Act I, Scene 7, Lines 25 – 27 Despite all the reasons which weighed against the act, Macbeth committed the crime and regretfully stated, "I have done the deed." Act II, Scene 2, Line 14 Once the original crime (the murder of Duncan) was committed, Macbeth found that he had to cover up and the best way to accomplish that was to murder his suspecting friend, Banquo. Soon Macbeth would come to the realization that he had become what he had feared, a monster, a tyrant. He had gone past the point of no return and acknowledged the fact, voicing, "I am in blood / stepp’d in so far, that should I wade no more, / returning were as tedious as go o’er." Act III, Scene 5, Line 136 – 138 Macduff becomes essential as he is the constant, the control, in Shakespeare’s experiment. Macduff never met the witches, never had his innermost faults exploited, and thus, never compromised his honor, morality, or integrity. Even when it came time for him to end the experiment and execute Macbeth for his crimes, he warned, "Turn, hell-hound, turn!" Act V, Scene 8, Line 3 refusing to close with his foe from behind. A variable can not be properly analyzed without a control with which to compare it to. Such is the case with Macbeth and Macduff, and thus comes Macduff’s necessity to the play as the control. We also find that people are not turned from Good by solely that which is within them, nor solely from influences from without, but from a combination of both. Those who are Good have neither had their inner faults awakened nor been influenced from without.
Macbeth and Macduff are truly an intricate study of differences and similarities. At first, it seemed as if Macduff developed in virtue and nobility, growing beyond his tragedies; but now in retrospect we see that it was he who remained constant and Macbeth who slipped from those traits, drowning in the guilt of his self-inflicted tragedies. Macduff’s personality was one which inspired trust and loyalty, while Macbeth’s carefully groomed deceptive veneer led to suspicion and ultimately abandonment. Macduff was able to react to his tragedies with more grief than guilt; the opposite was the result with Macbeth. Macduff, though a lesser character, becomes essential to the play as he represents Good, which allows the reader to be able to analyze his counterpart, Macbeth, to better effect. From Macduff we are shown why Good succeeds, for Good possesses the qualities of nobility, sincerity and righteousness, the ability to convert anguish to useful energy, and although Good has potentially destructive flaws, they are as yet unawakened. Good, which retains all of these traits, shall always prevail, as clearly shown in this play.