at Macduff was a coward and a traitor, but maybe he was just jealous of Macduff’s family because he knew that he himself could never have anything like that now, not with all the evil over him. Again, it was a jealous man seeking revenge on those who had bettered him just to ease his own demons.10In the end it is Macduff’s vengeance that ultimately ends Macbeth’s reign of terror. Out of the love he had for his family and the desire for justice, Macduff is the only one who is able to kill Macbeth. Many others try to strike him down, but they do not possess the drive that Macduff has and end up failing.11Perhaps Macduff’s revenge represents a twisted hand of fate where the tormentor is killed by the tormented. Or maybe it was the ultimate revenge taker, God, through Macduff, speeding Macbeth along to the place where he will pay for his evil ways for all eternity. Either way in the end good has conquered evil through revenge.1210 Peter Alexander, Shakespear, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964) 4311 Edward Dowden, Shakespear: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art. (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1873; Reprinted By Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1965.) 5212 Willard Fernham, The Medieval Heritage of Elizabethan Tragedy. (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1936.) 244...
