Comparison Essay

In the play Macbeth by William Shakspeare it portrays great examples of loyalty and how men of
good character should act. Trust is gained and easily lost however when lost, it takes a long time to get
it back. In this play Macbeth is a selfish, self absorbed man that places his own needs above everything
and everyone. Macduff on the other hand is a noble man that makes decisions based on what benefits
the people. They both begin their journey as loyal men who are faced with struggles and difficult
choices that could either make or break them.

Macbeth is an ambitious natured man that places his selfish greed before anyone else. His only
concerns are based on himself and how current events will effect him. When the witches tell Macbeth
that he will become the King of Scotland he becomes self driven into doing whatever it takes to earn
that title. Although Duncan was a noble king, Macbeth's craving for power consumed him and he
murders Duncan. The witches also tell Banquo that his sons will become king. Macbeth realizes that if
that statement is accurate, he will not be the next King of Scotland. Due to his desire for becoming
king, he gets three murderers to kill Banquo and his sons however Banquo's son Fleance escaped from
the murderers. Although Banquo was always loyal to Macbeth and Banquo himself would never
become king, Macbeth felt the need to have him murdered since he was present when the witches told
Macbeth he would be the next king. Macbeth believes that he would have given him up to the the
people of Scotland. The deaths of Duncan and Banquo was caused by Macbeth's selfishness and greed.
He begins to envision Banquo's ghost which in turn leads to his insanity. Soon after Macbeth has
Macduff's wife and son killed because he fled to join the English army to help Duncan's son, Malcom
becomes king. He also did it so that the other men will turn against Macduff for leaving the country and
his family. This is physical evidence that Macbeth is a tyrant. He no longer wants loyalty and honour
because he believes he should rule by fear. In contrast Macduff takes another approach and his choices

are of good character. He is a man that puts the well being of the people of Scotland before himself.
When Macduff discovers that King Duncan is killed and suspects that Macbeth has killed him he
refuses to obey him as the new king. Macduff flees to England (with Malcom) missing Macbeth's
coronation. He went to England to join their army against Macbeth however while he is in England, his
wife, son, and all of his family are presently in Fife. He never suspected that anything would happen to
them until he is informed that Macbeth had killed his entire family while he was gone. Macduff was
full of grief and guilt because he was not present and couldn't believe that Macbeth could do something
so dreadful to him. This leads to the second reason why Macduff fled to England. He wanted to
convince Malcom to return to England and fight with them under Malcom's leadership allowing
Malcom to become the next king if they defeat Macbeth. We know that Macduff is not executing these
actions for self gain because he is agreeing to allow Malcom to become king if they win. This shows us
that Macduff is a loyal man that makes decisions based on the bigger picture and what is best for the
country. Therefore Macbeth was a man that was only concerned about himself and Macduff always put
the people first.

Macbeth was once a trusted and loyal man that was looked highly upon by King Duncan and the people
of Scotland. Duncan worshipped Macbeth because he was a brave soldier in the battlefield against the
King of Norway. This all changes as Lady Macbeth persuades him to kill Duncan. She believes that
Macbeth is too kind and noble to do what is necessary to become king. This lets us know that Macbeth
was not always evil and that his wife played a huge part in the murder of Duncan. His wife emasculates
him by calling him a coward and making him believe that she is the man in their relationship. This
persuades Macbeth into committing this act of treason, however his conscience was telling him
otherwise. Macbeth did not want to kill Duncan because they were related (because Duncan's his king),
Duncan is his guest, there is no justice against murder, God will not protect him, and Duncan is a good
and innocent king. People like Duncan and if they find out they find out that he killed Duncan,

especially for a poor reason, he will be killed and people will turn against him. This reveals that
Macbeth does have a conscience, he just let the evil inside of him take over and ruin his life. This lead
to his visions, rage, and selfishness which led to his downfall.In a similarity Macduff was also a trusted
man that was looked highly upon. The major difference is that Macduff stays loyal and kills for the
country. Macduff left his family to protect the country simply because he thought it was the right thing
to do. He did it out of honour, not greed and was a call he thought had to be made. This shows Macduff
as a human being that he makes mistakes, human mistakes. When Lady Macbeth committed suicide,
Macbeth had a lack of emotion whereas Macduff grieved the loss of his family and placed that anger
into personal revenge. However Macduff also killed Macbeth because he was a tyrant that was driven
by his own needs and he needed to be stopped for the well being of Scotland. As a final point, trust and
honesty is earned although Macbeth abused it and Macduff kept it.

In conclusion Macbeth and Macduff were different in a variety of ways yet held some similarities.
Macbeth's selfishness drove him to his death and Macduff's loyalty gave him the justice he needed.
They were both once noble men however Macbeth lost that trust and Macduff received honour and
worship from the people of Scotland. Honesty and nobility will always have a greater impact than selfobsession and cupidity.