Role Of Insanity In Macbeth

To illustrate the characters being affected by sanity: “ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep in the affliction of these terrible dreams that share us nightly” (3.2). With this being stated one can see Macbeth and his wife already losing sleep and wondering about the dangers that lie ahead. Their sanity is becoming borderline to insanity and just waiting like a ticking time bomb to explode. “Terrible dreams that shake us nightly”: the guilt of killing Duncan was too overbearing that now Macbeth must rely on fate that allows his sanity to loosen and become insane. Sanity is the only thing that Macbeth had control over for a while, before the murder: “will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (2.2). With this

The guilt soon catches up to her “it is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus washing her hands.” (5.1). Following this the guilt has built up so much in her that it has caused her to sleep walk while washing her hands clean of all the sins she has completed. How is her sanity being affected by this? Sanity is all controlled by guilt, the more guilt a person has, the less sanity they will have and in one’s eyes lady Macbeth’s sanity has sailed. Sanity for some can make them numb “she should have died hereafter, there would have been a time for such a word. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time, and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life’ but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” (5.5). This exemplifies the numbness that has been created of all the guilt uprising in Macbeth’s heart and