In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the fight between Macbeth and Macduff occurs in Act 5, Scene 8. The confrontation begins when Macduff calls to Macbeth: "Turn, hellhound, turn!"
Macbeth still, at least partially, believes he cannot be defeated by Macduff because, as the witches predicted, Macbeth cannot be killed by a man born of woman. I say "at least partially," because the rational side of Macbeth knows his situation is hopeless. He feels nihilistic after his wife dies (The "Tomorrow" speech), and he feels like a baited bear, a bear chained to a tree and attacked by dogs for the enjoyment of an audience. He has also seen Birnam Wood move. Rationally, he knows he is doomed.
He begins the fight with Macduff, however, still holding on to the idea that he can't be defeated. After all, he has just killed Young Siward with relatively little trouble.
After listening to Macbeth brag of...
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his charmed life, though, Macduff informs Macbeth that he was not born of woman (Macduff's mother died in childbirth before Macduff was born, so, technically, Macduff was born of a body, not of a woman).
Nevertheless, Macbeth faces Macduff and fights nobly. The fight moves offstage, and the result is not known until minutes later, when Macduff enters the stage carrying Macbeth's head.
Macbeth is thus killed, and Scotland is cleansed from evil.
This fight occurs at the very end of the play. In fact, it is just about the last action that happens at all. The outcome of the fight is that Macduff kills Macbeth. He takes him offstage, then cuts off his head and brings it to show to Malcolm, who will now reclaim his rightful place as King of Scotland.
Although Macbeth has been the bad guy in this play, at least he dies well, telling Macduff that he doesn't care if the prophecies have been fulfilled -- he is going to fight to the bitter end.
What is the outcome of Macduff's meeting with Malcolm in Macbeth?
The end of Macbeth Act IV, scene iii, may be the first and only time that two characters are honest with each other in the entire play. The outcome is that the rightful heir of Scotland, Malcolm, and Scotland's most loyal thane, Macduff, decide to restore Scotland to her former self.
In the first half of the scene, Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty by pretending to be a worse tyrant than Macbeth. Some critics (Susan Snyder) think Malcolm may be telling the truth here--that he will continue the reign of blood that Macbeth has begun. Macduff laments this but does not take action: he must realize that Malcolm is play-acting.
Later, after Ross informs Macduff that his family has been slaughtered, Macduff grieves and then transforms into an agent of revenge. Malcolm seems to take sadistic satisfaction in the news--he relishes slaughter--which validates the above fear that Malcolm is as cruel as Macbeth.
Overall, the scene is troubling no matter how it is read. Scotland seems doomed for disaster regardless. We fear that Malcolm may become Macbeth or that the cycle of revenge will continue to repeat itself. Certainly, Malcolm's pact with the English army will present problems for Scotland in the future.