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Baldwin Lee
Ms. Tierce
English IV Honors
7 April 2015
The Sleepless Tragedy
If the mind is filled with guilt, the body will not rest. In Macbeth, Macbeths guilty
conscious prevents him from getting normal sleep. Insomnia, the inability to sleep, is displayed
in Macbeth in many cases. It denies the body recovery and forces people to lose track of the
time, the place, and their thoughts altogether. In the world of Macbeth, it is seen as one of the
worst possible situations and is often viewed as a dreadful predicament with fatal consequences.
This wicked curse ultimately leads to the downfall of Macbeth and his wife.
On the night that Macbeth murders King Duncan, Banquo says to his son, "A heavy
summons lies like lead upon me, / and yet I would not sleep: merciful powers, / Restrain in me
the cursed thoughts that nature / Gives way to in repose! (II.i.6-9) This quote suggests that the
words of witches are real, leading Banquo into suspicion of Macbeth, especially after Macbeth
wishes him a "good repose (II.i.29) after their conversation. After the actual murder of King
Duncan, Macbeth is left in shock; he begins to panic as he hears two voices from the next room
say There's one did laugh in's sleep, and one cried 'Murder! (II.ii.20) Absolutely frightened,
Macbeth thinks that even the sleeping men one room over could see the blood on his hands from
the killing. He is so petrified that he even tells Lady Macbeth he heard a voice saying that he
would never sleep again. From this point on out he is overwhelmed with guilt and cannot sleep
properly because of it.

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At the end of Act III, Macbeth hosts a banquet for all of his guests; this is where he loses
it completely. Macbeth views an empty chair as full when he starts to hallucinate and sees
Duncans ghost appear. He starts to scream and panic as if the ghost has come back to haunt him.
Lady Macbeth tries to calm him down and reassures their guests that Macbeth is not well and
needs rest. She tells him "You lack the season of all natures, sleep" (III.iv.140). Afterwards she
pleads to the guests that without sleep anyone would go insane and that Macbeth has not been
getting his sleep lately, trying to keep Macbeth together before he mistakenly admits to the
murder of Duncan in front of everyone.
Later in the play, Lady Macbeth also falls victim to insomnia herself, almost revealing the
truth about Duncans murder as she is seen sleepwalking around the castle. During the night in
Act V, the doctor and a gentlewoman discuss Lady Macbeths unusual tendency to sleepwalk.
Ironically enough, Lady Macbeth enters the room holding a candle and mumbling words to
herself while sleepwalking around Dunsinane. Unnoticed, the doctor and gentlewoman cease
conversation to eavesdrop on Lady Macbeth. In the process, they overhear her say Macbeth
does murder sleep. They do not realize the context of her words immediately but the doctor
comments "A great perturbation in nature, to receive at once the benefit of sleep, and do the
effects of watching" (5.1.8-10) meaning that Lady Macbeth must be extremely troubled if she is
acting as if she is awake while she is sleepwalking.
The theme of insomnia is strongly presented in the play Macbeth. After leaving Duncans
room, having murdered the king, Macbeth believes that he hears someone near cry "sleep no
more, Macbeth doth murder sleep." Macbeth is vexed by insomnia, slowly becoming
overwhelmed with guilt. As the play develops, Macbeth becomes increasingly paranoid that his
wrongdoings will be revealed. The ghost of his old friend Banquo, who he has ordered to be

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killed, returns to haunt Macbeth, symbolizing his guilty conscience. This is also displayed in Act
III after Duncan appears at the dinner table during the banquet. Lady Macbeth is also no stranger
to insomnia as she constantly sleepwalks. This lack of sleep conclusively caused Macbeth and
Lady Macbeth to lose their minds and in Lady Macbeths case, her life.

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Works Cited
"Importance of Sleep in Shakespeare's Macbeth." 123HelpMe.com. 5 Apr. 2015.
"Macbeth." Sparknotes.com. B&N, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
"Macbeth's Curse: Link Between Sleeplessness And Paranoia Identified." ScienceDaily.
Welcome Trust, 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
"Macbeth Navigator: Themes: Sleep." Macbeth Navigator: Themes: Sleep. Shakespeare
Navigators, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.