Sleep and Rest In Macbeth Essay

Shakespeare also utilizes the theme of appearance and reality. The classic dagger scene, when Macbeth is not sure if he can trust his eyes, is only one of many references to this theme. For instance, he sees Banquo's ghost at the banquet and Lady Macbeth imagines blood on her hands. Banquo talks about the 'cursed thoughts' he has had and his dreams of the witches. Macbeth talks of the world of thought and dreams and sometimes becomes lost within it. Lady Macbeth is critical of Macbeth's 'foolish thoughts' and talks of him being 'lost' because of this. The idea of sleep is also integrated, as Macbeth is told he has murdered sleep and will 'sleep no more' whilst Lady Macbeth thinks of sleep as death, calling it the sternest 'goodnight'.

Sleeplessness is defined as the inability to sleep; insomnia. Sleeplessness and sleep disturbances can be very dangerous When in a sleeping state, the mind is at rest so a person’s actions are not in their control. In the play, sleeplessness does just exactly that and makes the characters act or think a certain way, such as guilt or as if they have lost their minds. Sleeplessness ties hand in hand with paranoia. As of a result of the insomnia, Macbeth becomes very paranoid with everything and everyone around him. Lady Macbeth, Banquo, and Macbeth all greatly demonstrate sleeplessness in this classic piece because of the troubled situations throughout. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the theme of sleeplessness is demonstrated by how it is caused, which characters go through it, and how it can soothe a life well-lived.

When reading the story "Macbeth", a motif that will definitely notice the symbol sleep, although it may not seem so serious before reading the story, it is a powerful and important term used in the story.

The word sleep is defined as the “natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored” (Merriam-Webster). Although the dictionary definition is first thought of for a word such as sleep, various other interpretations are present in Shakespearean plays, such as Macbeth. In Macbeth, the protagonist, Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, is approached by the Weird Sisters who are witches. The Sisters tell Macbeth that he will eventually become King of Scotland, which starts a series of deceitful plans of action. Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband into devising a plan to kill the current King Duncan in order to have the throne for themselves.

Sleep is a significant that everyone needs, and most want. Sleep is a necessity, just like the basic needs, and without it humans can’t properly function. The meaning of motifs and words are shown in the lines within writing, notably in Macbeth. Macbeth is a play that focuses around the main character Macbeth. Macbeth was portrayed as a strong and brave soldier and was Thane of Glamis. After a battle won, he and Banquo meets three witches who give them each three prophecies. The witches told Macbeth that he would be the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King of Scotland. These prophecies gave Macbeth hope, but maybe too much hope. The prophecies led to unwise decisions and lack of sleep. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the word sleep has significance in developing the events and shaping each character. Lack of this word emphasizes the tense and dark mood, and displays the internal struggles of characters. It represents the guilt a character feels, and lastly reveals their loss of innocence. Sleep displays the struggles of characters and leads them into their insanity. Usually, sleep is described to be calm, relaxing, and rejuvenating. Although, when the characters start to question their own actions, sleep doesn’t become so innocent anymore. The word sleep in this play displays positivity and is wanted, although people who do not gain the desired sleep, nightmares occur, the loss of innocence of some characters, and the reappearance of horrific events are opened.

Macbeth is a mobid book portraying what can happen when one's actions take over their morals. These actions of jealousy and anger can lead to death, acting strange and even sleeplessness. This sleeplessness is because of the guilt they are feeling. Macbeth portrays sleeplessness by innocence and guilt of characters conscience, the mood of the play, and how actions are guided.

Macbeth's disturbed sleep can also be perused as a metaphor for the disturbed condition of the kingdom. In 17th century,

We all know how important it is to sleep well and how horrible we will feel the next morning if we do not get a good night’s sleep. In William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” sleep symbolizes clear conscience, peace, and innocence. The sleepless are affected by fear. Sleep is a very important symbol in the play because it tells us more about how characters think, and it makes us understand them more. The main character feels that he will never sleep again because he has destroyed the slumber of Duncan. Duncan is the father of two sons (Malcolm and Donalbain). Macbeth’s wife’s sleep is also destroyed by guilt because she helped him commit this horrible crime and we can witness that later in the play when this woman is sleep walking.

The curtained sleep” (2.3.90-93). The word nature is now changed from being used as a personality to a figure of serenity or peace. With Macbeth lacking proper sleep, the peacefulness of resting is “dead” and filled with hallucinations and nightmares. Saying that nature is dead is almost saying that Macbeth’s hopes of resting and being able to properly live are dead because he can never forget killing an innocent man for his personal desires. Moving further into the plot, Macbeth talks about his position, saying “to be thus is nothing,

Did you know that humans spend a third of their life sleeping? In The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, three witches tell Macbeth that he will become the next King of Scotland; Problems arise when he is urged by Lady Macbeth to murder King Duncan, the reigning King of Scotland. When Macbeth decides to finally kill King Duncan is when Macbeth murders sleep. “Methought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep, / Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, / The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, / Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, / Chief nourisher in life’s feast”(II ii 35-40).

A second effect of sleeplessness is seen in Macbeth's lack of trust for mortals. Macbeth no longer seems able to trust his old friends, or anyone else for that matter; his lack of sleep develops into paranoia.  He orders the murder of Banquo and keeps it from Lady Macbeth, his partner in this entire evil feat.  Both of these events of distrust show a lack of good judgment.  Together, they again show that Macbeth’s lack of sleep is greatly affecting the way that he thinks, because he would never have acted in this way before.  By ordering the death of Banquo, Macbeth slips deeper into the grasp of evil.  As well, keeping this behavior from Lady Macbeth distances Macbeth from the one person who thought the same way as he did and who, even in the end, would defend him and his actions.   

In the play “Macbeth”, by William Shakespeare, the idea of sleeplessness is introduced numerous times throughout the work. Shakespeare is a well know literature expert that creates many different works such as poems and plays throughout his life. In this play, sleep disturbances are present, and are also put to an end. Characters such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience difficulties occurring to sleep throughout the play. Shakespeare writes, “Still it cried, “Sleep no more!”

This holds true for characters in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Both Macbeth and his wife, lady Macbeth, are troubled by the murders they commit, and it affects their sleep. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses insomnia, nightmares, and sleepwalking to show guilt in his characters. Even before Macbeth does the deed of murdering Duncan, the thought of what he is about to do makes him hallucinate. He hallucinates a dagger before him, hallucinations caused by lack of sleep. "

Sleep is a very important part of our lives. When we sleep, we are not only charging ourselves up, but we are also relieving our mind of all the stress we take on in an average day. Sleep allows our mind to harness the subconscious thoughts that occur every day, and project them in the form of dreams. Feelings or thoughts that never actively came to your mind while you were awake now flow into your head like a waterfall. Symbolically, sleep can also act as a gauge that measures a character’s innocence or guilt in a story. Even in modern times actions or situations that we feel uneasy about can haunt us in our sleep, or even keep us from sleeping in general. In Macbeth, published in 1623 by William Shakespeare, the word sleep and its symbolic meanings are significant to the play because it shows the evolution of Macbeth

The highly acclaimed play called Macbeth often uses many literary devices and imagery to come to a conclusion about a topic. One of the frequent uses of imagery in this play is the imagery of sleep and death. Shakespeare often uses the sleep and death imagery to set a tense and eerie tone in the play. This is seen in the actions of Lady Macbeth in act 5 of the play, the actions of the character Macbeth, and the scene of and following Duncan’s death.