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What are some reasons why I could prove that sleep deprivation is the cause for Macbeth's downfall? The only idea I have so far is the hallucinations! Thanks :)

Well, he becomes extremely careless in his daily actions and schemes.

I'm not so sure I agree it was sleep deprivation.

I wouldn't say that Macbeth's actions were due entirely to sleep deprivation either, but it is an interesting idea.

I'd suggest starting off by familiarizing yourself with the effects of sleep deprivation (for example, on the cognitive effects).

The hallucinations are an obvious starting point, but there are also mood swings, forgetfulness, anxiety, and loss of alertness/reflexes (possibly causing him to lose his final combat).

The wikipedia article I linked to also has this interesting bit under executive function:

In a study that involved risk-taking analysis of drivers who had been driving for 12 hours straight, it was found that they were more willing to make hazardous maneuvers and were reluctant to adopt any form of a cautious driving style

I'm sure it's not too difficult to make the case that Macbeth was less than duly cautious.

What about trouble sleeping as a symptom of post traumatic stress disorder? After all, the play starts with MacBeth finishing a particularly ruthless and bloody war. That could potentially have caused him to lose sleep!

No sense in proving something that isn't. That leads to the "r" word. Anyway, I'll not go there. I'm sure there's a few supporting details that could imply that Macbeth's actions were the result of sleep deprivation, but I would argue it's more likely that he was too easily persuaded by his wife. Often a strong love for someone can throw the veil over the eyes, one just thick enough to filter out the truth, leaving behind only vague shapes of what is. He loved the wrong person too much.

Thank you everyone :) My ideas are flowing more smoothly now!

Hi Monica

Whatever you do in literary criticsm must be based on the text. If you have a theory about sleep deprivation leading to Macbeth's hallucinations and his subsequent downfall, then you must go through the text looking for evidence.

For example, in act 2 scene 1, on his night watch, Fleance reports than the moon is down. Banquo remarks that "she goes down at twelve", meaning it is already past midnight.

Macbeth then appears and they talk of the three sisters before Banquo retires to bed. Macbeth tells a servant to ask his wife to "strike upon the bell" "when my drink is ready". We may assume this is a supposed to be a sleeping draught.

It is at this point that he ses the dagger before him.

Go through the whole text looking for evidence like this and you might be able to prove your theory.

Mkfs wrote: "I wouldn't say that Macbeth's actions were due entirely to sleep deprivation either, but it is an interesting idea.

I'd suggest starting off by familiarizing yourself with the effects of sleep dep..."

I don't think Shakespeare had ready access to on-line resumés of psychology research papers. Try Hollinshed.

I can't remember when I first heard the "sleep deprivation" theory of Hamlet's behavior, but I do remember I've always found it a compelling one, and at the very least, an interpretation that is supported by a lot of the text. Take, for example, the lines from the first witch in 1-3:

I will drain him dry as hay:
Sleep shall neither night nor day
Hang upon his pent-house lid;
He shall live a man forbid:
Weary se'nnights nine times nine
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine:

Now, she's talking about the husband of a woman who insulted her, not MacBeth, but clearly it's the kind of thing that Shakespeare was presenting as a concept. The sailor is the master of the Tiger (a ship) and if the captain of a ship, then why not a usurper king?

The rest of the play is rife with sleep, dream/nightmare talk and hints about the wakefulness of the leads.

So, I'd start right there: Act 1.

Gary wrote: "I can't remember when I first heard the "sleep deprivation" theory of Hamlet's behavior, but I do remember I've always found it a compelling one, and at the very least, an interpretation that is su..."

Hi Gags!

At first I thought you were using Hamlet's name as code for the villain in the Scottish play. Then I saw the unspeakable name below and realised you were probably sleep-writing.

Good point about sleep symbolism recurring throughout the play.

Sorry, my mistake. MacB not Hammy. I just posted something about the Dane, and got my mind all shakenspeared up.

Edit: Plus, I'm on enough cold medicine to cure Ebola--though it doesn't seem able to fix me up.

Philip wrote: "I don't think Shakespeare had ready access to on-line resumés of psychology research papers. Try Hollinshed. "

Anyone who is seeking to find evidence of sleep deprivation in Shakespeare probably isn't an Originalist.

Philip wrote: "At first I thought you were using Hamlet's name as code for the villain in the Scottish play. Then I saw the unspeakable name below a"

Yeah, keep an eye on that, Gary. You know the
!

Philip wrote: "Hi Monica

Whatever you do in literary criticsm must be based on the text. If you have a theory about sleep deprivation leading to Macbeth's hallucinations and his subsequent downfall, then you mus..."

Thank you. I will do that!

Gary wrote: "I can't remember when I first heard the "sleep deprivation" theory of Hamlet's behavior, but I do remember I've always found it a compelling one, and at the very least, an interpretation that is su..."

Thanks for the help!

Alright, so the hallucinations are caused by sleep deprivation, but how exactly do the voices and the ghost of Banquo lead Macbeth to his demise? The floating dagger kind of encouraged him to go along with killing the king, therefore leading to the desire for power and ultimately his downfall, but the others I'm having trouble with.

Monica wrote: "Alright, so the hallucinations are caused by sleep deprivation, but how exactly do the voices and the ghost of Banquo lead Macbeth to his demise? The floating dagger kind of encouraged him to go al..."

You caught me in the middle of re-reading Macbeth for another project (I know it's the one play of Shakespeare that's short enough to read comfortably at a single session, but because of various reasons, I'm having to go bit by bit). If you can wait another day or two, I'll come back with a fuller answer to your question.

Just for the moment though, I don't think you can say the hallucinations actually led to anything. It might be better to think of them in a different way from, say, their equivalent in a Hollywood film. If the hallucinations are only in his head, where are the witches? Banquo sees them, too, then he becomes a ghost. And what happens to Lady Macbeth?

Philip wrote: "Monica wrote: "Alright, so the hallucinations are caused by sleep deprivation, but how exactly do the voices and the ghost of Banquo lead Macbeth to his demise? The floating dagger kind of encourag..."

Thanks for your opinion! I'll think of something else because you do have a point.

Monica wrote: "Philip wrote: "Monica wrote: "Alright, so the hallucinations are caused by sleep deprivation, but how exactly do the voices and the ghost of Banquo lead Macbeth to his demise? The floating dagger k..."

It's just that there is so much topsy turvy going on in the play, "fair is foul and foul is fair" etc. Take "Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane", which is not supernatural but appears so to Macbeth.

Are you working on this for a college paper?

Philip wrote: "Monica wrote: "Philip wrote: "Monica wrote: "Alright, so the hallucinations are caused by sleep deprivation, but how exactly do the voices and the ghost of Banquo lead Macbeth to his demise? The fl..."

No, it's only a high school paper - grade 11.

Monica wrote: "Philip wrote: "Monica wrote: "Philip wrote: "Monica wrote: "Alright, so the hallucinations are caused by sleep deprivation, but how exactly do the voices and the ghost of Banquo lead Macbeth to his..."

I did Macbeth in what we call the fifth year, for my O levels. 1972, going on sixteen!

Your teachers will appreciate you closely following the text, as I said before. There are inconsistencies of time in the play (there often are in Shakespeare) but it's possible to show that both Mabeth and his wife deprive themselves of sleep in their murder of Duncan.

For example, on the night of the murder, Banquo tells Macbeth he has dreamt of the witches, so he has managed to fit some sleep in. But Macbeth hasn't. Referencing four or five points like that should be enough to make a theoretical case... and prove you have put the time in studying the play!

Philip wrote: "Monica wrote: "Philip wrote: "Monica wrote: "Philip wrote: "Monica wrote: "Alright, so the hallucinations are caused by sleep deprivation, but how exactly do the voices and the ghost of Banquo lead..."

Great, thank you! You've been a lot of help. :)

Sleep deprivation is not the point. Macbeth possesses guilt. The guilt is derived because he defies reason and kills Duncan to fulfill his ambitions. The witches are symbols of the witches within us and within Macbeth. The sleep "problems" occur when he realizes he upset cosmic order by killing the king. Thus, he feels guilty. This guilt is his nemesis, or the consequences of his ill reason. He does not "deprive" himself sleep. Lady M. suffers the same fate. To harp on sleep deprivation as a theme of "Macbeth" is to fade the tragic possibilities of the drama. If sleep causes him to enact heinous crimes, then his lack of reason is let off the hook. A cause outside his rational ability moves the dramatic action. If this were so, then "Macbeth" would be nothing more than a silly melodrama. Aristotle asserts that "good or ill is within our grasp". We all have the CHOICE of either. Once that choice is made, then we must live the consequences. If sleep is the cause of ill reason, then no choice is made. The notion of choice is central to tragedy. A tragedy occurs when, as Aristotle schools, "things could have been better". That is, a different choice was within the tragic hero's grasp. Then, as in "Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow . . .", the tragic hero understands their mistakes, THAT is tragic. Sleep deprivation allows Macbeth an out. Why would he knowingly go to his death if sleep was to blame? Instead of "Lay on, MacDuff" he would say, "I think I'll lie down, MacDuff".

The fault lies in ourselves, not in our stars - I believe this applies to all of Shakespeare's tragic heroes. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's overweening ambitions lead them to take dishonest and faithless actions. That they do these at night, when the stars are out, isn't the cause of their downfall. All their problems are of their own making. And as Sebastian reminded me in his April 14 post, Macbeth lacks any set of principles that might have enabled him to resist his wife's pressure.

Dormilona wrote: "The fault lies in ourselves, not in our stars - I believe this applies to all of Shakespeare's tragic heroes. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's overweening ambitions lead them to take dishonest and faithl..."

No, Dormilona, he had a set of principles, he CHOOSES to ignore them. After he meets the witches, Macbeth has a soliloquy where he articulates the contrast between his reason, don't kill the king, and his appetite, kill the king, become king. Therefore, he has a moral marrow. Lady Macbeth's persuasion (be a man) turns him from the better angels of his nature. THIS is the tragedy because thing could have been better IF Macbeth had CHOSEN to follow his reason and not his appetite. (He admits, to himself, before Lady Macbeth persuades him, that he can't kill the king.) IF he "lacks any set of principles", if he possessed an ignorance of morality, then things could not had been better. "Macbeth", in this case, would be a calamitous melodrama: a misguided individual by an act of fate enacts a heinous act due to his or her innate immorality NOT choice. Thus, things could not have been better. The notion of choice is salient to the tragic moment. Aristotle notes in "The Poetics", "good as well as evil lie within our grasp". If we CHOOSE evil, if we turn our ethics away from reasonable good, and then realize our choice, a choice that cannot be reversed (the revolt against Macbeth), the tragic moment is fulfilled. Notice that every (decent) Shakespearean tragedy includes the moment of what the Greeks called "anagnorsis": the moment where "ignorance gives way to knowledge". The tragic hero is ignorant of the magnitude of their choices in upsetting the cosmic order (notice the "storm" imagery in "Macbeth"), and when they come to understand the calamity of their choices and that other choices could have avoided the universe they have created, this is tragic.

Dutch wrote: "Dormilona wrote: "The fault lies in ourselves, not in our stars - I believe this applies to all of Shakespeare's tragic heroes. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's overweening ambitions lead them to take di..."

Thank you so much, Dutch, for enriching my understanding. Your thoughtful words make more sense than my glib ones and I'm grateful for the light you bring. I need to go back and read the play. It's been a few decades.

Dutch wrote: "Dormilona wrote: "The fault lies in ourselves, not in our stars - I believe this applies to all of Shakespeare's tragic heroes. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's overweening ambitions lead them to take di..."
The play is my favorite. I'm glad my comments helped.