Lack Of Sleep In Macbeth

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Sleep is a period of rest and revitalization, without it, one can become extremely weak and start to go insane. In Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare, a tale is told of a man who is tempted by 3 Witches to greed and ambition for one important commodity, power. Macbeth kills the King to gain his throne. However, after the murder, Macbeth is unable to sleep properly. Thus, bringing forward why “Sleep” is one of the key symbols throughout the play. Sleep is portrayed as innocence, conscience, nature and guilt and reinforces the images of darkness, evil and night. Sleep is a symbol of innocence considering Macbeth has never done a deed of great evil ever before, in his life; that deed of great evil is killing King Duncan. Since he is no longer innocent, it is now affecting his sleep. He realizes this in Act 2 Scene 2 and says, “Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more” in lines 42-43. Lady Macbeth, his wife, sleep is effected also since she persuaded Macbeth to kill Duncan after he has resolved not to do it after taking time to think it through. …show more content…

The lack of sleep is part of punishment for killing King Duncan. There is always a penalty for evil actions and it begins to extend against their conscience. This penalty is foreshadowed by the Witches in Act 1 Scene 3, when they were plotting to punish the sailor by not letting him sleep. Lady Macbeth is so full of guilt that she walks and talks in her sleep. You begin to notice throughout the play, after the murder, that she is constantly trying to wash her hands due to the guilt. Lady Macbeth loses her mind as a result of guilt and later commits

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