What Does Sleep Symbolize In Macbeth

After an encounter with the three witches and their prophecy of becoming the new king, the idea of wanting more tempts Macbeth and his wife and they commit a regicide. Then, The Thane, shocked at his behavior, realizes that he will “Sleep no more” and lack a “Chief nourisher in [life]” ( Shakespeare 2.2.47, 52). Shakespeare uses the motif of sleep to represent healing and nourishment, so sleep is an essential part of a human’s survival. Since Macbeth committed a murder, an immoral act, he will no longer experience this vital activity, as a result, Macbeth has to suffer the harsh consequences rather than experience what is essential to human life. Soon after, the new king orders the murder of Banquo and his son, to maintain his title as the king.

Sleep is critical to a person's mental health, without sleep even the most sane person can fall to hysteria. The use of sleep can also be used in literature writing to express its impact on the characters. In Shakespeare's Macbeth the motif of sleep is used as a metaphor to illustrate Lady Macbeth's hysteria and guilt worsening throughout the tragedy. In the beginning of the Tragedy, Lady Macbeth can be described as strong, brave and ambitious.

In Act 2, Scene 2, he declares, "Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep'" (2.2.33-34). This haunting line demonstrates the profound impact of guilt on Macbeth's psyche. His troubled mind generates hallucinations and delusions as a manifestation of his tormented conscience. These psychological experiences are not indicative of schizophrenia but rather the consequences of his moral decay and the weight of his heinous

Throughout Macbeth, there are continuous references to sleep and its influence over characters. Sleep is used to symbolize innocence, purity, and sanity. When a character has difficulty sleeping, they're experiencing feelings of inner turmoil or have a guilty conscience. Sleep also represents the intentions of a character because characters that sleep more usually have good intentions. In short, Shakespeare uses many different literary devices to portray the importance of needing sleep, and what consequences follow if a character cannot sleep.

As he begins to panic he exclaims:“Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more / Macbeth does murder sleep'..... great nature's second course, / Chief nourisher in life's feast” (2.2.34-39). Macbeth is starting to understand the severity of the crime he just committed. Shakespere uses sleep as a metaphor for innocence because people are their true, vulnerable self while sleeping. Macbeth refers to sleep as “The death of each day's life,” which indicates that he believes in the after life.

Topic: Sleep and Dreams in Shakespeare's Macbeth Quotes: "Methought I heard a voice cry, 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep' - the innocent sleep" (Act 2, Scene 2). "O gentle lady, 'tis not for you to hear what I can speak: The repetition, in a woman's ear, Would murder as it fell" (Act 2, Scene 3). "I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?"

"Eat our meal in fear and sleep / In the affliction of these terrible dreams / That shake us nightly" (3.2.17-19). This depicts that Macbeth is fearful, paranoid, and plagued with nightmares that will eventually lead him towards insanity. Additionally, in Act 5 it says "Rise from her bed, throw her night-gown upon her, unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write upon't, read it, afterwards seal it, and again return to bed; yet all this while in a most fast sleep" (5.1.5-7). The motif is also effective in the quote because Lady Macbeth is acting like she is awake when she is actually asleep.

Sleep is one of the purest forms of altered consciousness however, traumatic experiences can impede one’s unconscious thoughts. Macbeth returns after killing Duncan and the guards, grief stricken and afraid. He tells his wife that sleep itself has been murdered and that nobody is immune his treachery (5.1.44). Macbeth’s crime is intensified by the act of murder being done at night and to sleeping rather than awake guards. The moment of guilt that Macbeth felt for his actions represents the hidden innocence behind the crimes.

Macbeth begins to go insane after he murders King Duncan at the beginning of the play. Although he did it for a gain of power, he still feels very guilty. Macbeth starts saying weird things about what he heard, “Methought I heard a voice cry “Sleep no more!” to all the house. “Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more.

The part of him that was a loyal subject to the king is now dead. When Macbeth says “‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder

This point is further reinforced when Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth, “You lack the season of all natures, sleep” (III.v.173). She is basically saying that Macbeth is acting strange and should get some sleep. Without sleep, Macbeth is degrading and losing his ability to function as a person, not to mention a king. Clearly, the word sleep plays an important role throughout the play Macbeth. It is used as a symbol for innocence and death, while the absence of sleep denotes an absence of rest and the presence of guilt and paranoia.

In the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare the word night appears multiple times and it plays a big role in the play. For Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both the word night seems to portray a feeling of darkness and evil. In the most prominent scenes where night is used the person isn’t referring to the night itself, but rather the idea of darkness that comes along with night. In every act of the play the word is mentioned at least twice and has at least one moment which the word is used in a powerful context.

King Henry provides a soliloquy about yearning for sleep. In his soliloquy, he asks sleep why it will not pay him a visit, and expresses his jealousy. The idea of a king's good night's rest is perpendicular to the Tragedy of Macbeth. In King Henry’s Soliloquy, he yearns for sleep.

Clearly, sleep is a major motif in Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. The word sleep alone is used over thirty times, with similar words pertaining to sleep such as rest and dream being used another twenty times. Throughout the short story of Macbeth, Shakespeare writes about sleep literally almost as often as figuratively, using sleep as a symbol of the king, comfort and well-being, all good things considering the gruesome events throughout the book. Macbeth’s direct involvement with the King’s murder left him losing sleep and feeling a false sense of security that would eventually lead to his own

Macbeth is extremely paranoid and guilty. He doesn’t believe he will be able to sleep after committing this