Macbeth Essay[1]

Ryan Thomas World Lit Honors Mrs. Sullivan April 13, 2007 Imagine a quiet, peaceful slumber after a hard day. Now, imagine never resting again, demons haunting you every time you fall asleep. Macbeth faces this exact fate throughout the play, and it drives him insane. Indeed, from the moment of Macbeth’s first act of evil, his murder of Duncan, sleep’s very nature reverses. When the characters sleep, they no longer experience a restorative, peaceful rest; instead, their minds force nightmares and unconscious tortures upon them, steadily driving them mad with guilt and fear. Sleep throughout the play takes on three main functions: it reflects the theme of reversal of nature, it unites the play through its repetitive appearance, and it reveals the character’s true thoughts. From Act 1, sleep imagery pervades Macbeth. The witches provide the first instance as they talk about how they will torment an unlucky sailor. I’ll drain him dry as hay. Sleep shall neither night or day Hang upon his penthouse lid. He shall live a man forbid (1.3, 22). The image of a man being haunted and drained of his spirit by lack of sleep