At the start of the play, both Macduff and Macbeth are similar in that they display great courage and skill on the battlefield. They also share a similar loyalty to king Duncan and their beloved Scotland, since they are prepared to sacrifice their lives in defence against the traitor's Macdonwald, the thane of Cawdor and the Norwegian forces led by Sweno. We hear glowing reports of their skill in fighting off and ultimately vanquishing the enemy. The two men are both held in high esteem by the king and his subjects alike.
The primary difference between the two is that Macbeth is driven by selfish ambition and he wishes to obtain the ultimate rank, by fair means or foul. He formulates an evil plot to get rid of not only his king but also his cousins, Malcolm and Donalbain, since he is closest in relation to the king after them. With them out of the way, the crown would become his. Macduff, on the other hand, is loyal to his country and does not have any selfish, over-riding ambition. Even when Malcolm tests him to see whether he would be loyal to his king, no matter how corrupt he may be, Macduff says that he would rather go into exile than serve such a tyrant. Clearly, his country means more to him than any man, even himself.
This is a sentiment absent in Macbeth. Macbeth becomes a ruthless tyrant. He murders all and sundry whom he deems a threat to his position. He has no qualms in assassinating even his closest allies such as Banquo. He shows scant remorse when he has Macduff's entire family, servants and all, cruelly murdered. He does not even seek redemption from Macduff. He has become so paranoid and filled with blood lust that he shows no exception in who he has executed. He is cruel and unforgiving. Even when Lady Macbeth dies, he is more matter of fact in his response than compassionate.
Macduff, though, is completely overwhelmed and distraught on hearing reports about his family's murder. He is then even more determined to confront the perpetrator, Macbeth and slay him for committing such a horrendous evil. Furthermore, it is evident that Macduff cares about his family, even though he had abandoned them to seek help in England to redress the anarchy in Scotland.
Macbeth has only his wife and has to endure the thought of leaving behind a barren crown. Where Macduff's relationship with his family seems of a more loving and caring nature, Macbeth's relationship with his wife seems more practical and is guided and sustained solely by their common greed. There are hardly any scenes in the play where the two express great love for one another - however, they are inseparable partners in crime.
When Macbeth and Macduff confront each other in the final scenes of the play, it is clear that both men are unrelenting and would fight to the very end, a sign of their determination and resolve. There is a difference though, Macbeth is driven by the witches' predictions. He has been encouraged by the fact that 'none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.' He emphatically believes that he has the upper hand in his confrontation with Macduff, who shatters this idea by telling him that he had been 'from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd'. At this, Macbeth realises that he had been deceived by the witches' predictions and he then damns them. Macduff kills and then beheads him.
In this also, it is clear that the two men are different. Macbeth had placed his destiny almost entirely in the hands of the witches and believed everything they told him. He was gullible and foolish in this regard. Macduff, on the other hand, fled Scotland and took charge of his own destiny. He went to England to seek assistance so that he may free his beloved Scotland from the ravages imposed on it by the tyrant Macbeth. Unlike Macduff, it is also clear that Macbeth had lost love for his country and was guided solely by greed and self-interest.
Ultimately then, Macduff's noble actions deserve our respect and admiration whislt Macbeth's ruthless and vile nature deserves our contempt.
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