Importance of Sleep in Shakespeare's Macbeth

Sleep in Macbeth

It is natural to want to sleep after working hard. If something goes wrong or if the conscience feels guilt, the body will not let the person rest. The conscience keeps the person awake to think about his sins and keep torturing him until he confesses. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses images of sleep to show the guilt of Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's conscious. When the idea of the first murder enters their heads, things begin to go wrong. They no longer have the natural healthy, normal sleep. Their sleep is made up of nightmares and other disturbances. Only the admission of guilt or death can save them.

Strange things begin happening in Macbeth's mind when he decides to go through with the murder of Duncan. He sees the image of the dagger floating in front of him(53). This is his inner thoughts warning him on how unnatural this act is. When he goes to Duncan's chamber, he hears warnings from his conscious. "Sleep no more!/Macbeth doth murdered sleep"- the innocent sleep."(57) This is Macbeth's first evil act. At this point he still hears the warnings. As he gets further into the darkness, all the other voices disappear. Instead he is haunted by evil dreams, images, and premonitions. Lady Macbeth is also warned of the trouble that is to come from this. When she goes to Duncan's chamber, she sees the image of her father, warning her not to murder Duncan. She strips herself of all good to gather the strength to go through with the act. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth give up their souls in pursuit of the kingship. It is this obvious disregard for the warnings by the conscience of the loss of innocence that causes them to be haunted by it later in the play.

The great loss is the natural sleep. Sleep is the reward of the day. Because Macbeth and Lady Macbeth give up their innocence, they lose the good sleep. "Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse the curtained sleep(53)." "You lack the season of all natures, sleep," says Lady Macbeth to Macbeth(109). Their sleep is no longer natural. It is forced by them. Their conscience will no longer let them rest. It wants them to suffer for their sins. The doctor observes, "A great perturbation in nature, to receive at/ once the benefit of sleep and do the effects of watching(161).