I would start by refering to the way that Macbeth
describes sleep after hearing the mystical voice that suggests that he will never be
able to patricipate in sleep again. Consider the positive way that sleep is described in
the following images:
Slee, that knits up the ravell'd sleave of
care,
The death of each day's life, sore labour's
bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great Nature's second
course,
Chief nourisher in life's
feast--
Macbeth gives us many
images that focus on the restorative powers of sleep and how it heals, refreshes and
relaxes humans from the cares of the world. The fact that he will not be able to sleep
any longer means he will be excluded from these properties of sleep and unable to find
relief.
We can also find evidence of an increasing sense of
paranoia, as Macbeth, who was described as such a strong, brave and valorous warrior in
Act I scene 2, now trembles at the slightest sound and feels that his life is stained by
his deed in a way that can never be washed away:
How is't with me, when every noise appals
me?
What hands are here? Ha! they pluck out mine
eyes.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this
blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will
rather
The multitudinous seas
incarnadine,
Making the green one
red.
This quote presents us
with an incredibly powerful image exploring Macbeth's guilt and the way that his crime
has transformed him completely. He is looking at his hands and the blood on them, and
wonders if all the waters in the sea will be enough to wash the blood off them. He
concludes that so deep is his guilt, and so terrible his crime that his hands will
rather turn all of the sea red rather than be cleansed. Killing his King has had seismic
consequences for Macbeth, both psychologically and personally, and he will be a changed
individual for ever.
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