The Motif of Sleep Disturbances in Macbeth Essay Example

the play, she leads the audience to believe that she is tough and remorseless. But she too is feeling guilt from the horrendous actions of her and her husband. Through the repeating pattern of her sleep loss and sleep walking, we soon see the depths of her guilt. In the third scene of the fifth act, we see a doctor of Lady Macbeth who is attempting to explain her “condition” to an impatient Macbeth, saying, “Not so sick, my lord, / As she is troubled with thick coming fancies / That keep her from her rest” (V. iii.46-48).

Another role of sleep in the play Macbeth is to symbolize both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s descent into insanity or darkness. At the beginning of the play, the audience is led to believe that Lady Macbeth is the crueler one out of the murderous duo, but as the play progresses, it becomes evident that Macbeth is the one who is undergoing a rapid descent into darkness. As this descent happens, he not only loses sleep but also loses the innocence of sleep and his good will. Macbeth feels that he tread too deeply in the murders he’s committed to back

out now, as shown by this quote: “I am in blood stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er” (III.iv.168-170).

Macbeth believes that he must continue to murder people in order to secure his kingship. This belief is stemmed from his lack of sleep, which is causing him to lose control of his mind and his values. Towards the end of the play especially, Macbeth’s remorse is not as evident through his actions. To outsiders, it seems as though he has become completely ruthless, with no remorse and a cold, cruel heart. But, as it is with most things in this play, the strange patterns of his sleep and talk of sleep spill the truth-- deep down, Macbeth is being eaten alive by guilt. Right after killing Duncan he even states that “Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou / couldst” (II.iii.94-95). Later, when speaking with Lady Macbeth, Macbeth also says that envies Duncan for being dead, for he is now freed from all of the treacheries that life brings to people. “Duncan is in his grave.

After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well” (III.ii.25-26). Here, it is evident that Macbeth ironically envies Duncan’s ability to “sleep.” In the play,

the motifs of sleep and death are also used to create a somber atmosphere throughout the play. Lady Macbeth loses sleep because of her fear of being discovered and her remorse over her crimes. After the murder of so many people, Macbeth no longer sleeps as a result of his guilt. And of course, all of the people who were murdered by the Macbeth’s or as a result of their actions are now resting in a different, perverse kind of sleep: which is, of course, death. As Macbeth says, shortly after murdering Duncan: “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.47-52). Although the motif of sleep is used mostly to reinforce the dark moodiness of the play, it is also used at one point during Macbeth to create a more relaxing and humorous atmosphere. The purpose of this is to act in contrast to the

overall dark atmosphere of the play and to serve as comic relief. This reoccurrence of the sleep motif occurs during the porter’s scene in the third scene of Act Two.

The drunk porter, after admitting Macduff and Lennox into the Macbeth’s place of residence, says to Macduff that drinking results in three things: a red nose, the need to pee, and, of course, sleep. There are also some other minor themes that occur many times in the play, with sleep playing a key role in demonstrating these motifs and getting Shakespeare’s message across to the audience. One of the most prominent themes in Macbeth is the “appearance versus reality” theme, which occurs many times throughout the play.

Sleep plays a key role when we dissect this theme. As discussed earlier, sleep is meant to be an agent of peaceful restoration and relaxation for the human body and mind. In contrast to this peaceful image, sleep was a device of torture for the Macbeth’s due to their unremitting guilt before, during, and after their horrific murder splurge. Because of this and the incessant and intense anxiety that came from their attempts to hide their guilt, nightmares begin to pierce their innocent sleep. These quickly led to Macbeth’s hallucinations and Lady