In the tragic play, Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is a character who actively contributes whether it is directly or indirectly to all of the notable deaths in the play. Despite these treacherous acts of murder however, Shakespeare still manages to evoke feelings of sympathy for Macbeth within the mind of the reader. By emphasizing Macbeth’s declining mental state, as well as Macbeth’s conflict with his nobility and is ambition are the devices Shakespeare uses to retain sympathy for Macbeth throughout the play despite his increasingly evil nature. Perhaps the greatest contributor to the reader’s feeling of sympathy for Macbeth lies within Shakespeare’s portrayal of Macbeth’s mental instability. The reader is first able to retain sympathy for Macbeth despite his evil nature after the reader learns of Macbeth’s regicide. As Macbeth begins to confide with his wife, the reader can note that Macbeth is beginning to become mentally unstable, “Me thought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more! - Macbeth does murder sleep”, this revelation is quickly dismissed by Lady Macbeth as she heard nothing, “What do you mean?” Lady Macbeth’s response suggests to the reader that Macbeth had imagined these voices. As they continued, “Still it cried, “Sleep no more!” to all the house.
“Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor
Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more.”
Macbeth here speaks to the voices he heard, expelling him from the comfort of sleep, which