Symbolism Of Sleep In Macbeth

The word “sleep” is used throughout Macbeth with various connotations. One of the ways to interpret Shakespeare's use of “sleep,” is as a symbol of innocence. This symbolism is used repeatedly in concerns to Duncan and his murder. When Lady Macbeth is unable to kill Duncan, she explains, “Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done’t” (II.ii.15-17). Lady Macbeth sees her father, someone who is also an innocent in her mind, in sleeping Duncan, showing that she also sees Duncan’s innocence. This can also be taken as Lady Macbeth staying innocent by forcing Macbeth to kill Duncan opposed to her. The correlation between innocence and sleep can also be seen when describing the guards who are framed. They are described as both as “those

Duncan is in his grave; / After life's fitful fever he sleeps well" (III.ii.22-26). “Ecstasy” in this circumstance can be take to meant a kind of insanity. This means that not only is Macbeth unable to have a moment of tranquility, he feels as though he is going crazy. All of this leads Macbeth to be jealous of Duncan and the fact that he “sleeps well,” or is dead. Essentially, Macbeth longs to embrace the truer sleep of death, because in life, he is unable to slumber or relax, and it is driving him to the brink of sanity. This point is further reinforced when Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth, “You lack the season of all natures, sleep” (III.v.173). She is basically saying that Macbeth is acting strange and should get some sleep. Without sleep, Macbeth is degrading and losing his ability to function as a person, not to mention a king. Clearly, the word sleep plays an important role throughout the play Macbeth. It is used as a symbol for innocence and death, while the absence of sleep denotes an absence of rest and the presence of guilt and paranoia. Without sleep and its connotation, Macbeth would lose the important meaning