Lack Of Sleep In Macbeth

May 11, 2023
Han Lane
“Sleepeasy Scotland”

In order to have a good day, one should get between eight to ten hours of sleep. The play Macbeth by William Shakepseare takes place in Scotland during the eleventh century. In the exposition, three witches approach Macbeth telling him he’ll be king of Glamis and Cawdor. As things progress, Macbeth makes unhinged, or rather unethical decisions, with this in mind. Macbeth, similar to the rest of us, will have to face consequences due to poor decisions, and perhaps have things taken away. While a teenager might get their phone confiscated, characters in Macbeth will find their sleep to be confiscated. Sleep is generally associated with healing and comfort. When the Macbeths make poor or regretful decisions,

Lady Macbeth finds Macbeth in hopes of finding out why he’s been keeping to himself lately. Macbeth confesses that the murder of Duncan has been on his mind a lot recently, causing him to act the way he is. Lady Macbeth tries to persuade Macbeth to let go of these joyless thoughts. In response, he says “Duncan is in his grave. After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well. Treason has done its worst; nor steel nor poison, Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing Can touch him further” (Act 3 Scene 2, Lines 15-30.) In other words, he tells Duncan, in his grave, he will be happy for eternity. He lived a very full life, and now he can rest. He’s gone through unimaginable betrayal and now nothing more can happen. Lady Macbeth at this point in the play is certainly concerned for Macbeth’s well being. She spends the scene trying to convince Macbeth to let go of his guilt, to which Macbeth agrees to do so. He tells her that Duncan’s death was actually a blessing in disguise. While Macbeth might not believe in what he’s saying himself, he wants to reassure both Lady Macbeth and himself that he made the right decision. I believe that the Macbeths are somewhat romanticizing the idea of death, a word with a very negative connotation. When Macbeth uses the word sleep to describe death, he comes off as envious of Duncan’s condition. In many ways, Macbeth’s sleep cravings

Unlike earlier in the play, Lady Macbeth loses confidence and ambition, and like Macbeth, begins to feel pressure. In her castle, a gentlewoman notices Lady Macbeth beginning to sleepwalk often, and decides to retrieve a doctor. She tells the doctor “Since his Majesty went into the field, I have seen her rise from her bed, throw her nightgown 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” (Act 5 Scene 1, Lines 4-10.) In other words, since his majesty went into battle, the gentlewoman has seen her rise out of bed, put on her nightgown, take a piece of paper out of her closet, write something, seal the paper, and return to her bed. She does all of this asleep. While earlier in the play Lady Macbeth was the tougher or more assertive of the Macbeths, she too has started to have bizarre or strange episodes due to her guilty consciousness. And despite Lady Macbeth’s attempts to “play it cool” if you will, her body has betrayed her. I think that Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking reveals the distress and unhappiness she can’t express emotionally while she’s awake. And that the yelling, the washing of hands, and the hair pulling, all show the very real her, neither the other characters nor the audience can see during the