Macduff Vs Macbeth Essay

Fear—it’s an enemy everyone faces at one point in their lives. But how should one combat this fear? More specifically, how should a man do? In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, two people who process fear very differently are the titular character, Macbeth, and one of his thanes, Macduff. In the book, Macbeth receives harsh news, news that strikes fear into his heart. Macduff receives similar news, though the two each process and deal with their fear in different ways, one as a coward, another as a man. In the end, they are met with very different outcomes. A man should always process fear not only with bravery, but with emotion. Macbeth processes his fear very differently from Macduff, in a way which causes him to cower behind his power,

The word harped is defined in the Folger edition of the play as “sounded, guessed (as in touching the right string on a harp)”. What Macbeth is saying here is that the witches, in telling him to beware of Macduff, have correctly guessed his fears. Macbeth already fears Macduff, and in telling him of this prophecy, chances are the witches have only increased his fears tenfold. Later, Macbeth speaks with Lennox, who gives him word that Macduff has fled to England. 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 line” (Shakespeare IV.i.171-174). In saying he will kill all who trace Macduff in his line, Macbeth essentially says that not only will he slay Macduff’s innocent wife and children, he will slay any and all who bear the name Macduff. He perfectly demonstrates here his fear, and how he is willing to go to great lengths simply to silence it. Never does he stop to process his fears, or to turn them into something greater as we later see Macduff do, he simply tries to do anything and everything within his power to silence the fear within