The Guilt of Sleep Shakespeare uses sleeplessness to represent the ever-increasing guilt of Macbeth and his wife throughout the play. At the beginning with the murder of Duncan when Macbeth wishes that someone could "wake" Duncan. Then later when Macbeth notes that the soon to be murdered Banquo is lucky because he will sleep. These are just some examples. Shakespeare opens his theme of sleeplessness with the witches as they talk of a sailor's wife …showed first 75 words of 552 total…

…showed last 75 words of 552 total…to worry about the trouble of the guilt born by Macbeth. The theme of sleep ends in Act five as Lady Macbeth's gentlewomen watches her sleepwalk. Even when lady Macbeth does sleep she sleeps with a troubled mind as an effect of her guilt and the Gentlewomen say's that she has seen Lady Macbeth get up write something on a piece of paper then go back to sleep " yet all the while still fast asleep."