The scholar, Mark van Doren stated, ‘For sleep in Shakespeare is ever the privilege of the good and the reward of the innocent.’ With this essay I will present arguments in favour of Van Doren’s statement proving that Shakespeare uses sleep as a symbol of what is good and innocent. We will investigate three daggers that lead to the murder of innocence. To sleep . . . is truly a reward bestowed upon the innocent. The first dagger is innocence. Before Macbeth mustered up the courage to murder the King, he was not nearly as bloodthirsty as in the later scenes. Later, after being deprived of innocent sleep he says that if he kills Macduff he will, ‘sleep in spite of thunder ’ (Act 4, Scene 1, 86). After Macbeth metaphorically killed his own innocence …show more content…
After the murder, Macbeth is guilt ridden and hears a voice say, ‘Sleep no more!’ (Act 2, Scene 2, 32) – he knows he won’t be able to rest. His peace will be disturbed by his unholy deeds. ‘Macbeth does murder sleep, ‘the innocent sleep,’ (Act 2, Scene 2, 33)’. Being murdered brings peace, but being the murderer brings guilt. Shakespeare uses sleep as a symbol of innocence. Sleep causes defencelessness and peace – Macbeth murdered innocence and subsequently peace. The murder of innocence leads to unrest; the murder of peace. Sleep is necessary for survival and the lack thereof causes anguish, especially when one lies awake thinking about the wrongs you’ve done. The third dagger kills human nature and causes sleeplessness. Seeing her husband in such a state, Lady Macbeth says, ‘You lack the season of all natures, sleep’ (Act 3, Scene 4, 140). Without sleep, one will lose his mind – this might be the reason Macbeth goes on a murderous rampage. In conclusion, Mark Van Doren’s statement is correct. Sleep is a reward bestowed upon the innocent. Shakespeare symbolically uses sleep as innocence and the burden of sleeplessness as a punishment for guilt. The murder of innocence leads to the murder of peace which in turn murders the restful human
In the Shakespearian tragedy Macbeth, though Macbeth manages to murder the Scottish king Duncan to actualize the prophecy of the three witches, yet the guilt emanating from such nefarious acts and intentions continues to foreshadow Macbeth’s life throughout the plot. The very moment Macbeth approaches lady Macbeth with hands dipped in the blood of Duncan, his deeps seated guilt oozes forth as he says, “Methought I heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more;/Macbeth does murder sleep (2.2.45-46)”. Thereby, from this moment onwards, Macbeth is shown to be strongly stung by an unrelenting and continually nagging sense of guilt that makes him engage in strange and suspicion generating acts and manners. Yet, Macbeth time and again interprets his guilt as a sign of cowardice and moves on to spill more blood to consolidate his hold over an ill gotten throne. The torment and anguish inherent in these lines that are imbued with the seeds of guilt eventually metamorphose into a full blown sense of guilt and shame that continues to torment his soul.
After murdering Banquo, Macbeth begins to fear other powerful men around him, such as Macduff. The witches provide Macbeth with Apparitions that tell him his fate for the future as king. The second Apparition, a bloody child tells Macbeth that no individual born from a woman can harm Macbeth. Macbeth then replies “Then live Macduff; what need I fear thee? But yet I’ll make assurance double sure and take a bond of fate. Thou shalt not live, that I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, and sleep in spite of thunder” (4,1,93-97). Even though Macbeth gains the knowledge that no individual born from a woman can harm him, he acts cowardly to protect himself. Macbeth turns to murder instead of facing the powerful Macduff himself. As Machiavelli said men act cowardly, and Macbeth demonstrates just that by murdering anyone who seems to pose even a slight threat towards him as king. Macbeth believes murdering Macduff will allow him to “sleep in spite of thunder.” Macbeth uses this metaphor of sleep by saying the people who sleep are innocent and the ones who don’t sleep are guilty. Macbeth believes if Banquo is dead, he can sleep as an innocent person. Macbeth presents a cowardly character who believes murder is the “right” way of handling his problems. As a result of Macbeth murdering more and more people out of fear, his people will think of him as a cowardly king. Macbeth wants his people to think he is a strong king, but by killing good people out of fear, individuals will have their idea of Macbeth’s character alter into being a
Macbeth is describing sleep as a wonderful thing. It gives you energy and nourishes you like food from a feast.
Have you ever done something that you will regret for the rest of your life? Killing someone is considered to be the worst crime of humanity but planning to kill someone is just evil. Macbeth in Shakespeare’s play, who was loyal, courageous and honorable knight, protected his king from a traitor. His wife, Lady Macbeth is a stronger character, more dominant in the relationship with Macbeth. She is also a hideous woman, who influences her husband by making him commit murder by insulting and criticizing him. After a successful plan to kill King Duncan, Macbeth quickly continued to kill more people that could get in his way, even his best friend and family. When a person is committing a crime, they feel guilty for something they did. They will lose control of their mind, possibly committing more crimes and live a life of fear and hide their sins. Shakespeare reveals his messages in three different concrete symbols through ought the play; they are the candle, the crown and the dagger. These symbols appear in different times and shapes, but they are related to each other and represent one message from Shakespeare, guilt.
Innocence is a quality that few people take to their grave, although all are born with it. At some point in one's life, an event or circumstance removes that shield from both moral and legal guilt, whether in one's own eyes or in the eyes of another. In such a case, innocence is cast off, or innocence can be stolen. Both are true of Macbeth in William Shakespeare's tragic work Macbeth. The hero's innocence and naïveté make him vulnerable prey for those who feel completely at home in a subhuman realm of malice and disintegration - the witches and Lady Macbeth. Inevitably, Macbeth is eventually worn down enough to be pushed into this dark and evil abyss by his wife, Lady Macbeth, who leaps frantically in after him to join the witches where they are most at home.
(II, ii, 35) His innocence was killed and he knows that he has to live with this guilt for the rest of his life, hence Macbeth will never sleep peacefully ever again. After each successive murder, Macbeth becomes more and more inhumane. “I am in blood Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o 'er.” (III, iv, 143-145)
For example, it is natural to consider babies innocent when they enter the world. However, throughout the text, Macbeth has been proven guilty through the analysis of his unsettled nights. Sleep was used to symbolize innocence throughout Macbeth, and it proved his lack of from the start when he heard a voice saying, “Macbeth does murder sleep,” (2.2.36). Macbeth ended the life of innocence in the very beginning. His actions then impose the evil-stricken restless nights on his family, friends, and country. Furthermore, just as a baby grows less innocent as he or she goes through the unnatural sins imposed on him or her in the world, the characters in Macbeth loss their innocence as they went along with or performed the unnatural deeds. Consequently, the less sleep received directly coincided with the level of innocence in William Shakespeare's
Through the motif of nature in disorder, Shakespeare suggests in Macbeth, that murdering innocent people has dire consequences; he shows this through nature’s reactions to the murders committed by Macbeth, and his ruling as king.
Macbeth had invited the King and the King's men to his castle to celebrate the victory of the battle that had been won. That night, while everyone was asleep, Macbeth took a dagger and killed the King. After the murder he became very paranoid. In act 2, scene 2, he cries: "Didst thou not hear a noise? ...There's one did laugh in's sleep, and one cried `murder!', Methought I heard a voice cry `Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep'...I am afraid to think what I have done; look on't again I dare not."
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth the theme of guilt and conscience is one of the most prominent in the play. It gives life to the play and gives depth to the characters, it makes Macbeth a much more realistic character because we are shown that he is not perfect and still responds to temptation. The results of committing evil acts have such a powerful effect on the human mind, that it is eventually destroyed by it. Macbeth’s destroyed mind is evident when he states, “O full of scorpions is my mind dear wife!”. Macbeth and his wife, like all of us must live with our own actions; unfortunately his choices make this impossible and light the way to a tragic and dusty death for the Macbeths.
By embracing evil, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have committed unnatural actions that disturb them. Their guilt does not leave them in peace, and slowly degrades their health. Macbeth's guilt causes him to act strangely in front of his guests, and it disturbs him deeply. Macbeth's guilt is deeply mutilated, and it only affects him when he hallucinates "Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves / Shall never tremble" (III.iv.124-125), and as soon as his visions disappear he feels better "Why so, being gone, / I am a man again.- Pray you sit still" (iii.iV.130-131), not something normal considering the actions he has committed. His guilt paralyzes him when he does feel it, but most of the time he is guiltless, and that encourages him to commit more murder. Although his guilt does not ultimately destroy him, it is a factor that brings his own men against him, since through his guilt he reveals the actions he has committed.
This theme is further verified by King Duncan's statement "There's no art/ To find the mind's construction in the face..." (Act 1, Scene 4, Lines 11-12) Although Macbeth has the semblance of the amicable and dutiful host, ("fair") he is secretly plotting Duncan's death ("foul"). Furthermore, Lady Macbeth's orchestration of the murder exemplifies the twisted atmosphere in Inverness. Both a woman and a host, she should be the model of grace and femininity. She is described, however, as a "fiendlike queen" (Act 5, Scene 6, Line 69) and exhibits a cold, calculating mentality. In addition, the very porter of Inverness likens the place to the dwelling of the devil Beelzebub. This implies that despite its "pleasant seat," (Act 1, Scene 6, Line 1) Inverness is a sinister and evil place. It is also interesting to note that Macbeth is unable to say a prayer to bless himself after murdering Duncan. It is strange and "foul" that he should think of religion after committing such an unholy act. The very sanction of sleep and repose is also attacked in Macbeth. What is normally considered a refreshing and necessary human activity is "murdered" by Macbeth after he commits his heinous crime. Neither Macbeth nor his wife is able to sleep after killing Duncan. Macbeth's lack of sleep makes him a brutal killer; Lady Macbeth begins to sleepwalk and inadvertently reveals the source of her distress through her nightly babble.
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” explores a fundamental struggle of the human conscience. The reader is transported into the journey of a man who recognizes and acknowledges evil but still succumbs to its destructive powers. The character of Macbeth is shrouded in ambiguity that scholars have claimed as both being a tyrant and tragic hero. Macbeth’s inner turmoil and anxieties that burden him throughout the entire play evoke sympathy and pity in the reader. Though he has the characteristics of an irredeemable tyrant, Macbeth realizes his mistakes and knows there is no redemption for his sins. And that is indeed tragic.
In a world where murder is seen as a way to check if the prophecies of the witches are real, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth get caught by greed, the only escape seems to be a murder that will stop the nightmare of the killings. Once the murder has been committed, the revolt against it becomes very absurd and very illegitimate, making Macbeth a tragedy of the dark that develops in the night. In Act II scene II, Shakespeare uses tension and dramatic interest along with stage effects and language techniques to illustrate how Macbeth, with the help of Lady Macbeth influencing him to do so, commit the dreadful murder of King Duncan, and the after effects of this deed.
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's problem plays which have puzzled the critics all over the years. It is compact and full of significant scenes, and it has two important characters, Macbeth and his wife. It is a clear study of human nature, which I personally think Shakespeare had mastered. The final act opens with the sleepwalking scene and this scene is of great significance because it reveals the true nature of lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is one of the enigmatic characters. Once she is a woman made out of steel and suddenly she collapses; she returns to be a gentle wife. The sleepwalking scene also shows lady Macbeth as a complementary character to her husband.