Imagery Of Sleep In Macbeth

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Recommended: How is sleep a key theme in macbeth

Andrew Cochran
Ms. Priola
English 4: Philosophical Perspectives (Period 5)
May 15, 2014

A Piece of Mind

Sleep advocates emotional well being and a healthy brain functioning well. When a person is able to sleep they are able to be healthy and positive persons for the most part. People who lack sleep or are sleep deficient are probable to come across problems with coexisting with their peers. Most of time they may feel angry, hasty, depressed, lack motivation, or have plenty of numerous mood swings. Rest can help determine an individual's mood. Therefore this means that the proper amount of sleep can help put an individual in the right mind frame to make thoughtful decisions and perform everyday activities well. In Shakespeare's novel Macbeth the word and imagery of sleep meanings can be followed, connected, and traced throughout the novel. Throughout the duration of the novel sleep helps determine how the novel is shaped and materializes. Shakespeare uses sleep imagery to demonstrate the presence of evil, guilt, and innocence in humans.

A majority of the novel was based off of evilness by the different characters, which the imagery of sleep displays. During the play evilness completely transforms the lives and personalities of people into polar opposites. The complete horrific living nightmares that the characters' lives turned into because of their evil actions and presence is in direct correlation with the imagery of sleep in the novel. "Now o'er the one half-world nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse, the curtain'd sleep" (II.1.49). Right after Macbeth murders Duncan; the imagery of sleep is used to convey the evilness of what Macbeth has just done. Usually sleep is the time the mind can put a curtain around itself an...

... middle of paper ...

... furthest thing from innocent. A person can never get back their innocence once it is lost.
Shakespeare uses sleep imagery to demonstrate the presence of evil, guilt, and innocence in humans. For most people when they do something wrong they are able to learn from their mistakes and become a better person in the process. They do not dig themselves deeper in a situation filled with evilness and guilt that lead to destroying who they truly are as a person. In Macbeth, characters such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth put themselves in situations they were not accustomed to and ultimately lead to their downfalls. They were not able to sleep on things and sit back and reassess the situations. Instead they went full throttle ahead into the unknown. If these characters were able to rest then the consequences they received from their actions would have never been encountered.

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