Images of Night and Sleep in Macbeth by William Shakespeare Essay

After Macbeth murdered King Duncan, paranoia quietly started creeping in. He thought that he “heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep” - the innocent sleep” directly following the deed(2:2:53-56). As his paranoia increases, Macbeth convinces himself that being King “is nothing, but to be safely thus. . .[His] fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared;” subsequently, Macbeth has revealed

On the night MACBETH brutally kills the King of Scotland, Banquo fearful of his own 'cursed thoughts' observes that:

After convincing Macbeth to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth wants to take his “innocence” and use it against him, switching the use of sleep from a positive connotation to a negative one. Many times in Macbeth, when people are supposed to be sound asleep, they have actually been committing heinous crimes. During the beginning of Act II, everyone thinks Macbeth has retired to his chamber to sleep, but in reality, he headed over to Duncan’s to murder him. Shortly after the “deed is done”, Macbeth claims “This is a sorry sight.” (II.ii.23). Not only did he talk about Duncan being dead, but also the many sleepless nights to come for doing something so “foul”. Along with that, Macbeth states, “Methought I heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more!’ / Macbeth doth murder sleep.” (II.ii. 38-39), and “‘Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor / Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more.” (II.ii. 45-46). Both of these quotes further symbolize “Fair is foul and foul is fair. “ Macbeth kills Duncan only because he thinks it fair for him to become king, and to kill him will insure his kingship, so he does it while he’s most vulnerable. In reality, killing a man is very foul, and so when the sleeping guards say that Macbeth will sleep no more, it shows the changing meaning of sleep. When the guard states, “Glamis hath murdered sleep” (II.ii.45), Shakespeare intends to portray two different meanings. Not only did Macbeth kill Duncan in his sleep, but he murdered his innocence as well. This causes further problems for all of Scotland creating much more chaos then both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth intended. Lady Macbeth then commands Macbeth to “Go carry [the daggers] and smear / The sleepy [guards] with blood.” (II.ii.52-53). This action would symbolize making the once innocent guards become guilty, while Macbeth and Lady Macbeth remain innocent in the eyes of Scotland. Overall, the sleep motif

In the beginning of Act III Macbeth had just been crowned king. His prophecy had been fulfilled and that only leaves Banquo's prophecy left, that his son will become king one day. This poses a threat to Macbeth since there is a chance of being dethroned. In order to prevent the risk of Banquo and his son, Fleance, Macbeth devises a murder for both of them. When Banquo informs Macbeth that he will be returning to the castle after dark Macbeth saw it as a perfect time to plot the murder. In the dark, it is easier to hide in shadows and surprise attack Banquo and Fleance. This gives Macbeth the opportunity to avoid any suspicion coming towards him since he will be at the Banquet with other citizens being eyewitnesses.

Macbeth's conscience attempts overthink and re-consider his attention of the murder he is about to commit, it's understood in this scene that Macbeth is warned of his actions and the horror he might face after its results. Macbeth understands that his vision may be a result of overthinking about the situation which means he is aware that the dagger might just be an illusion, it has a great impact on him and feels greatly disturbed by it. Macbeth is afraid to carry out his plan, however, he is not able to get the idea out of his mind. This suggests he will be overwhelmed by the act, he shows that he does not have any power over his own thinking regarding the act. Another Imagery shown in this scene is darkness, which is associated with evil or fear. "Moves like a ghost"51-56, this shows that all evil presences are occurring this night, “There’s husbandry in heaven; Their candles are all out.”4-5, this quote supports that there are no stars in the sky tonight. The imagery of darkness shows that there was no light in the sky that night, therefore, there was an overwhelming amount of evil presence. This imagery could foreshadow the dark and evil act that was about to be committed to the audience. The imagery helps the audience get a better picture of the dark movements they are about to witness, that link into the planned murder of Duncan. Sleep is another major symbol in the scene, there was an interesting quote that Macbeth mentioned: “Nature seems

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the passage 2.2.13-93 is significant because of it’s use of sleeping metaphors,blood imagery and theme topic of guilt. The passage is significant because of it’s use of sleeping metaphors that show how sleep is a necessity the Macbeth’s can’t have.It also shows blood imagery that is manifested by guilt.Finally, this passage is significant because of Macbeth’s internal conflict.

Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he “heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep,’ to all the house”, which forewarns Macbeth’s fate (2.2.47-48,54). The voices that Macbeth hears reflects on his worry for the consequences he may receive for committing murder. It symbolizes how Macbeth’s mind is slowly succumbing to insanity since, regardless of what he thinks is right and wrong, he still accepts to do the deed of killing Duncan to gain power. Macbeth is the only one in the banquet that sees Banquo’s ghost. During the celebration of his crowning as King, Banquo enters the scene as a ghost after being killed by Macbeth’s murderers. Macbeth tells the ghost, “Thou canst not say I did it: never shake Thy gory locks at me,” (3.4.63-64). He explains to Banquo that he cannot tell anyone that he caused his death, meaning that his conscience still plagues him to the point he sees an illusory

In Act 2 of Macbeth, the “dream” and “sleep” motifs are used to assist in setting an anxious mood in the text.

The overall mood for this scene is dark because Banquo is having cursd thoughts while he sleeps. Banquo talks to fleance in the night before duncan's murder about his cursed thoughts. Take thee that too. A heavy summons lies like lead upon me,/ And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers,/ Restrain in me the cursèd thoughts that nature/ Gives way to in repose(2.1.5-11). The unnatural motif show how Banquo's cursed thoughts negatively affect him causing him a lack of sleep. Banquo is talking to macbeth about the dreams he has about the witches. All’s well./ I dreamt last night of the

Macbeth’s sense of self seems to diminish as he comes to reality with what he has done and who he has hurt. This leads to him to not being able to sleep because he has “murdered and therefore/Cawdor/Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more” (2.2.55-57). By him not sleeping it shows that he is going crazy, and is not ok with what has happened. Losing his sense of self is also slowly killing his mental state. His conscience is guilty which makes him think less of himself. When Banquo’s ghost appears it makes Macbeth feel as if he were dead. Wanting Banquo to “Take any shape but that,” because he wants him to “be alive again/And dare [him] to the desert with thy sword” (3.4.124-126). When Macbeth’s fears are confirmed about the line of kings all in the image of Banquo his future is shaken. Once being trusted friends this also helps to twist his mental state; and not for the good. Also by him not being stable Macbeth starts hallucinating and feels tempted to grasp what he sees and use it. These visions are a

So he kills many more people who he believes suspect him of murder. He becomes suspicious and insecure. He is scared of what he has done and fearful of deeds to follow. One of the main pieces of evidence that portrays a breakdown within the person is Macbeth's inability to sleep. This comes forward in Act two Scene 2 "I heard a voice cry `Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep'" (lines 33-34). Sleep was seen as the natural end to the day and it was unnatural to not be able to sleep. Macbeth lost the ability to restore himself within his mind and his body, therefore becoming abnormal. The fact that Banquo's ghost appeared to him at the banquet shows his troubled conscience - his murderous deeds are playing on his mind. The vision of the ghost also represents the fact that after Macbeth killed Banquo, he entered into the world of the supernatural at a level that he had never stooped to before. All the evidence above portrays a steadily growing breakdown within the person - within Macbeth.

He has developed a fear in Banquo’s competence and hatred concerning his prophecy as the father of a line of kings. Macbeth chooses the night, which symbolizes evil and sinisterness, to do his deed. His thoughts disclose his awareness in the badness in his crime and his plea for the darkness to cover up his conscience and righteousness to kill Banquo. He has yet again knowingly overstepped his moral standards and ignored his sympathetic nature for power and authority as the king. Additionally, Macbeth demonstrates serious guilt and regret after the death of Banquo; he feels that he would have to bear the responsibility and repay for the dreadful deed he has done.

In lines 20-23 Macbeth states, “Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep/ In the affliction of these terrible dreams/That shake us nightly.” In this quote, Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth how he eats his meals in fear, loses sleep due to his nightmares, and how he’d be better off dead compared to the endless mental abuse. Shakespeare’s use of the word “nightly” emphasizes how often, perhaps every night, his nightmares have been depriving him of sleep. The fact that he cannot even eat his meals peacefully, sleep without the “nightly” terrible dreams, and believe to be better dead proves how his immoral deeds have lead him to his own suffering.

In William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ sleep is a very significant aspect of the play which is portrayed by many references to it and occurrences that result in sleep deprivation. To emphasize the importance of resting Shakespeare uses varied poetic language and sleep distortions. Sleep comes as a significant theme of the play when Macbeth, persuaded by Lady Macbeth kills King Duncan while he is asleep at their house. Consequently, Macbeth suffers from devastating nightmares and delusions which are the reasons for his constant paranoia and anxiety that lead to numerous murders.

Lightness and darkness are major examples of Shakespeare’s use of imagery in Macbeth. Often while Lady Macbeth is walking