Free Macbeth Essays: The Value of Sleep

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The Value of Sleep in Macbeth

I'm sure you know what it is like to not have a good night sleep for a day or two, or maybe even a whole week, but imagine not being able to sleep through the night for an entire year. Macbeth grows to know this feeling all too well in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Every time that Macbeth is involved in murdering his so-called friends, his waking hours grow longer and longer. He almost goes crazy the night that he kills King Duncan, and he can never get over this because he immediately has to kill again in order to protect himself Each of these killings causes Macbeth to sleep less and eventually leads to his insanity.

It all starts when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth agree that it will be the best for both of their futures if Macbeth sneaks into the king's chamber and slaughters the king in cold blood. Here, he gets just a small glimpse of what's to come. He begins to already hear voices in his head. They say to him, "Sleep no more: Macbeth does murder sleep," and "the innocent sleep . . . Macbeth shall sleep no more" (II.ii.38-46).And he does not really sleep much more after this night. Macbeth kills innocence when he kills the sleeping Duncan. There is no possible way that Duncan can defend himself. He is completely helpless and innocent, but Macbeth kills him anyhow.

Finally, there is no choice for Macbeth but to kill his best friend Banquo in order to destroy any thoughts that Macbeth is actually Duncan's murderer, Macbeth has lost countless amount of sleep due to his conscience. He can not even think straight. For him to even consider killing his friend is demented enough, but to follow through with his plans is completely insane. How can you kill the man you have told everything to, and who you have spent most of your fun times with. Macbeth shows even greater weakness when he claims to see Banquo's ghost at the dinner table the evening of the murder. He acts so insanely that his wife has to stand up and say, "Sit worthy friends. My lord is often thus, And hath been from his youth. Pray you, keep seat" (III.iv.53-54). Macbeth's own wife has to stand up and lie for him because Macbeth has gotten so little sleep that he actually thinks this ghost is real, even though he knows that Banquo is dead.

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