Macbeth Themes Essay, Research Paper

William Shakespeare, in his tragic play Macbeth, written in 1606, dramatizes the

unrelenting power of deception, insanity, and greed which ultimately results in

the demise of Macbeth. Macbeth allowed his desire to become king overrule his

judgement which consummately terminated his existence. The play is full of

pestilence and set in Scotland during the eleventh century. In Macbeth,

sleeplessness is an important motif that permeates the dramatic structure.

Shakespeare uses this fatigue to substantiate the guilt of Macbeth, to represent

subconscious insanity, and to show a foreshadowing of bad things to come. The

motif serves to dramatize the true overview of how the characters are handling

the various tragedies that occur. Initially, the motif of sleeplessness is used

as a model of foreshadowing. For example, in Act II, scene i, Banquo finds it

hard to sleep the night Macbeth is supposed to kill King Duncan. This is

evidence that evil things will occur throughout the play. Furthermore, in Act

II, scene ii, while Macbeth was killing Duncan, Malcolm and Donalbain arose in

their sleep. One laughed and the other ?cried murder.? This is their

sleeplessness foreshadowing because Duncan was dead, even though the brothers

did not know it yet. Shakespeare?s use of the sleeplessness motif as

foreshadowing allows the reader to get a concept of what evil will come in the

future. Not only does Shakespeare use sleeplessness for foreshadowing he also

uses it as a mode of guilt. For example, in Act II, scene ii, Macbeth thinks he

hears a voice say, ?Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep!? This is

Macbeth imagining voices, telling him not to sleep because he is feeling immoral

and liable for Duncan?s murder. Next, Macbeth is afraid to sleep peacefully

because he knows that Duncan is ?in restless ecstasy?(Act III, scene ii).

Apparently, Macbeth is aware of his wrongdoing and feels culpable that he is

king and alive, but only at the sacrifice of Duncan. By using guilt to show

sleeplessness, Shakespeare shows that a corrupt crime can only leave the mind

unsure and unable to rest. The most significant aspect of this motif, however,

is how it is used to demonstrate the insanity of Macbeth and his wife. For

instance, in Act II, scene iv, Macbeth is at dinner with Lennox, Ross, and other

lords. He sees ghosts and is apparently insane. This proves that all the sleep

in the world could never clear Macbeth of his crime, he is already destroyed. In

addition, Lady Macbeth sleep walks and hallucinates a spot of blood on her hands

in Act V, scene i. This proves that she has gone crazy as well. She cannot sleep

because she is trying to remove the spot, which represents guilt. The strong use

of insanity as a moving force in the play causes the reader to understand that

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth cannot rid themselves of their evil deeds. The play

demonstrates that the subconscious can allow evil things to occur. The

sleeplessness motif is significant because it shows how the characters in the

play deal with their stresses. The eerie use of sleeplessness added to the guilt

of the characters, the foreshadowing of evil supplied a dark sensation, and the

irony of insanity showed that the character?s souls could not handle the

calamitous situations. Macbeth could not sleep because he was too guilt-ridden,

which eventually drove him to the breaking point. Macbeth?s fate, foretold by

the witches, finally caught up to him and after his frighteningly sleepless

nights, he was now engrossed by the eternal sleep called death.