Sleep…An Essay for Macbeth

Shakespeare uses sleep as a reward and a consequence in his plays. If a character is innocent and pure, he is allowed restful, fulfilling sleep. If the character is not, he is condemned to a lifetime of insomnia and other problems. In Macbeth, the reader can see this idea manifest itself in many different ways. From the beginning, when Macbeth hears the voice to the end of the play when Lady Macbeth sleepwalks, the reader …

…ther. For their 'good behaviour' they were able to sleep unhindered. Innocence and purity in a Shakespearean play have rewards attached to them. A deep, restful, peaceful sleep is allowed if the characters are good, but if they are not, sleep is barred from them and held in front of them as a reminder of their wrong doings. Those who are perceived as good and 'innocent' are allowed sleep, those who are not, sleep not.