Why Does Macduff Kill Macbeth

Before Macbeth meets with Macduff, he thinks of ways to handle Macduff so he would no longer be a problem. Macduff was considered to be a problem because he left the kingdom in order to assist an opposing force. Macbeth states “Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee? But yet I’ll make assurance double sure, and take a bond of fate.” (Act IV scn i, ln 82-84) He wants to make sure Macduff will not be a problem; he wants to keep Macduff out of his way. In this scene Macbeth is attempting to discover ways to inforce his superiority through the phrase “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword his wife, his babies, and all unfortunate souls.” (Act IV scn i, ln 150-152) He hired men to kill Macduff’s family, so he will be depressed and will grieve; he wants to keep Macduff out of the way of him still being King. The main reason he did this, however, was to exert his leadership over Macduff and send a message. This paragraph explains how Macbeth was disloyal to Macduff and how he did anything to keep Macduff out of his way, but things did not turn out as he

Macduff is the thane of fife, the foil to Macbeth, and the greatest patriot of Scotland during the play. He first appears in act one scene six, the King Duncan and the nobleman come to Macbeths castle. Macduff’s fellow noblemen marvel about the greatness of Macbeth’s castle, though Macduff stays silent throughout the scene. This is generally how Macduff acts; only speaking when spoken to, and not making unnecessary conversation. In act two scene three Macduff and Lennox come to wake the king and he is the one to make the discovery that the king has been murdered. He exclaims to Macbeth and Banquo what has happened, saying that the King is the Lord’s appointed temple. This is common in the time period

He wonders why the witches said that the prophecies were bad when they are such good news. Once again the witches offer half-truths to Macbeth and he is easily persuaded that he’s invincible and almighty. “Be Bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn/ the power of man, for none of woman born/ shall harm Macbeth.” (IV, i). Macbeth believes that he is unconquerable because of the visions from the witches. The manipulation of the bloody Child gave Macbeth a false sense of security. Macbeth thinks that there is no person that has not been born of a woman, which is what makes him think he is even more unbeatable. This is the second and last time that Macbeth hears from the witches. Just like the first time, he reacts on impulse to them and winds up being murdered by Macduff, who was born from a cesarean section.

Macduff's ambition in this play was to be loyal to his country by taking out Macbeth. Too much of his time is spent plotting against Macbeth, which throws off Macduff’s values. He abandons his family and left for England to find Malcolm so he could wage war against Macbeth. Later, Macbeth hears that the recent absence of Macduff at the banquet and at Duncan’s funeral was because he had fled to England, to find Malcolm. So Macbeth reacts to this by sending murderers to kill Macduff's family. Once Macduff finds out that his family is dead, he starts to exhibit some emotion. At this time he is about to wage war on Macbeth with Malcolm; Malcolm say's to Macduff "Dispute it like a man"(4.3.259). Macduff then replies,

Many people who have read William Shakespeare’s Macbeth know that Macbeth is the tragic hero in the play, but there another character stands out as a much greater protagonist. Macbeth is the type of character who turned from a loyal warrior to the king into a violent, tyrannical, and conflicted person as he progressively commits crimes inside the kingdom without anyone’s notice, except for one person, who is Macduff. Macduff doesn’t have any flaws and remains sinless and heroic throughout the play. As Macbeth progressively gains power and prestige in exchange for the lives of his king, his friends, and his countrymen, Macduff meanwhile goes through great personal loss in his attempts to stop Macbeth’s tyrannical ruling and to restore justice and freedom to Scotland. It is ironic how Macduff acts so much more nobly than his king. Throughout the tragic events that have occurred in the play, Macduff serves as a heroic figure through his demonstrations of intelligence, loyalty, and righteousness.

“The way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full sound and fury, signifying nothing.” (V: V: 25-30). This is the quote Macbeth says when he knows what’s coming for him, but he still proves to be self-deceit by listening to what the witches told him that he cannot be killed by someone born of a women. Macbeth once again thinking he’s invincible doesn’t realize that someone who was born of a caesarean section could kill him, because they are not technically born of a woman. Macbeth did not know Macduff was born like that, and it is why Macduff is the one to kill Macbeth.

By the end of the play Macbeth had become to cocky about his skills and what the apparitions told him. When he meets Macduff at the end of the play, instead of running away like he should have he taunts Macduff about the fact that he can not kill him. That is until Macduff says this:

After this Macbeth kills Macduff whole family and servants to send Macduff a message for being disloyal and he thinks that Macduff suspects him of something as well. This is shown when Macbeth says “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, Seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls That trace him in his

The three apparitions which appear to Macbeth are, "Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff, Beware the Thane of Fife. / Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man; for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth. / Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him." Macbeth translates these prophecies as a meaning that he will reign as king until the day he dies of natural causes and will no longer have to fear Macduff for he can do no harm to him. Although he is assured by the equivocate predictions, his uncertainty gets the better of him. This can be seen in his actions; he kills Macduff 's family but leaves the man himself alive, he enters into battles screaming that no man of woman born shall ever harm him, not knowing that Macduff was born of Caesarian section, and eventually his foolish actions lead to his death at the hands of Macduff.

The pathetic fallacy in this statement is the quality and condition of the air is a sign that odd events will come. Continuing on, when Macduff and Macbeth meet in Macbeth’s castle at the end of the play, Macbeth states that only a man who is not born from a woman can kill him. Macduff counters back to Macbeth that , ““And let the angel whom thou still hast served / Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped”(5.8.14-16). Macduff states that because of being cut out the womb as opposed to being born naturally, Macduff is the one who is to kill Macbeth. The analogy of the foggy and filthy air giving light to odd events to come lead to Macbeth’s death because Macduff fits the description the apparition gave Macbeth.

When Macbeth hears that Macduff has fled to England, he says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife, give to th’edge’oth’ sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him his line,” (Shakespeare 4.1.150-153). Earlier, Macbeth receives a prophecy claiming that he should beware of Macduff. However, after he hears about Macduff fleeing and hearing the prophecy, he declares that he will go into Macduff’s home and kill everyone to secure his place in power. This ambitious move by Macbeth comes back to hurt him later in the play. By killing Macduff’s family, it causes Macduff to become angry and seek revenge. When Macduff returns to England, it is he who kills Macbeth out of anger due to the death of his family. In the end, Macbeth’s corruption of ambition causes him to make a risky move that costs him his life and brings his

Macbeth is nervous and becomes frightened of what they have done while his wife tells him to change because they have blood on their clothes. This shows that Macbeth still has some morals, which are being lessened as his greed increases and there is more blood on his hands. Once Macbeth is crowned king he continues to kill people in order to secure his rule, including his friend Banquo, Lady Macduff, and Lady Macduff's children. Macbeth visited the three witches again to listen to more prophecy about him and an apparition appeared telling him " no one given birth to by a woman shall harm Macbeth" (Act 4 Scene 1). By hearing this, Macbeth believed he was virtually invincible, but in the end Macduff revealed he was brought into the world by caesarean section, not by a natural birth. Macbeth realizes that Macduff would be the one to kill him in the battle between Malcolm and he. Macbeth had entered a cycle of greed, leading to spilling blood, which in turn made him think he had secured his power. This terrible cycle was ultimately the reason for his demise because he couldn't control his greed and killed more and more people to remain the king of Scotland.

Because of these predictions, Macbeth believes that no one can harm him. However, this is a false sense of security. Macduff, who was born by a Caesarean section and therefore was not born of woman, ultimately killed Macbeth, thus revealing that the witches predictions were only half-truths.

On page 121, Macbeth declares he will kill everyone in Macduff’s household by saying, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise,/Seize upon Fife, give to th’edge o’th’ sword/His wife, his babies, and all unfortunate souls/That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool;/This deed I'll do before this purpose cool./But no more sights!- Where are these gentlemen?/Come, bring me where they are.” (4.1.150-156) In this quote, Macbeth is telling the reader/audience he is going to send someone to kill Macduff’s household in order to bring him back to Scotland. Macbeth has no hesitation about committing this murder, unlike the other two. He is doing this so he won’t seem weak and so he’ll have a better chance at remaining in power.

More people start to become treats along with becoming suspicious to Macbeth. In order to make sure that he stays in power without letting anyone know about his previous scandals Macbeth hires people to do it for him. Macduff finds out that his family was murdered and wants to kill Macbeth before he destroys the kingdom. At the end of the story. Macduff battles Macbeth saying “I have no words,My voice is in my sword. Thou bloodier villain,Than terms can give thee out! (Act 5 Scene 8) meaning that Macduff is full of rage and wants Macbeth dead. As the battle continues, Macbeth is defeated knowing that he couldn't be killed from anyone born from a