Clutching daggers smeared with blood in his hand, Macbeth, in the Tragedy of Macbeth, cries out to his wife, “There’s one did laugh in ’s sleep, and one cried / ‘Murder!’” (Shakespeare 2.2.30-31). In his play, William Shakespeare tells the story of a couple, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who perform commit wicked and immoral actions in an effort to sate their ambitious desires. However, as the play progresses, they are overcome with guilt and are afflicted with terrible dreams. Through his portrayal of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare highlights the importance of sleep, and how one’s evil actions prevents them from receiving the peace they lack through sleep. Thus, in Macbeth, Shakespeare develops the motif of sleep, throughout the course of the play, in order to elucidate that one’s guilt has the ability to consume them completely and bring them to the brink of insanity.
Throughout the course of the play, Shakespeare utilizes Macbeth’s deep fear
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From the beginning of the play, Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of sleep as a natural healer of the mind. Through his portrayal of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they both have to face the weight of their own guilt, he underscores that their lack of sleep is a direct result of their guilty actions. Ultimately, Shakespeare’s depiction of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s mental deterioration as a result of their guilt alludes to the idea that only pure actions can allow one to prosper and be free from guilt. In contemporary society, where it is easy to give into wicked immoral temptations, it is essential for readers to understand that in order to live a healthy and peaceful life, it is necessary to refrain from giving into evil desires. Otherwise, suffering the same fate as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth could be a dangerous reality for many