The Sleeping and the Dead

Product Information

Their demeanors contrast sharply in this scene. While Macbeth is convinced that he hears voices talking of "murder" and asking for God's blessings, Lady Macbeth remains calm and resolute. Their plans are not yet complete. They must now plant the daggers on the guards to throw suspicion in that direction. But Macbeth cannot stop thinking about his literal and figurative bloody hands and tells his wife,

Act 5, scene 7 On the battlefield Macbeth kills young Siward, the son of the English commander. After Macbeth exits, Macduff arrives in search of him. Dunsinane Castle has already been surrendered to Malcolm, whose forces have been strengthened by deserters from Macbeth’s army. Act 3, scene 5 The presentation of the witches in this scene (as in 4.1.38 SD–43 and 141–48) differs from their presentation in the rest of the play. Most editors and scholars believe that neither this scene nor the passages in 4.1 were written by Shakespeare.Act 3, scene 3 A third man joins the two whom Macbeth has already sent to kill Banquo and Fleance. The three assassins manage to kill Banquo. Fleance escapes. Michael Grey, an enigmatic and secretive young man who was reported missing by his foster parents in 1972. Act 3, scene 6 Lennox and an unnamed lord discuss politics in Scotland. Lennox comments sarcastically upon Macbeth’s “official” versions of the many recent violent deaths. The nameless lord responds with news of Macduff’s flight to England to seek help in overthrowing Macbeth.

Act 5, scene 1 A gentlewoman who waits on Lady Macbeth has seen her walking in her sleep and has asked a doctor’s advice. Together they observe Lady Macbeth make the gestures of repeatedly washing her hands as she relives the horrors that she and Macbeth have carried out and experienced. The doctor concludes that she needs spiritual rather than medical aid.Michael was reported missing after his foster parents died in a car crash by the guy who managed their wills. They didn't even know he'd been missing.

Even though Macbeth has finally done the dirty deed and murdered Duncan, his scheming wife, Lady Macbeth, is still full of harsh words for him. In the run-up to the murder, she was constantly exhorting her husband to stand firm and not to get cold feet about what had to be done. She questioned his manhood, made him out to be a coward—anything to stiffen his resolve and make him go through with Duncan's murder. It is also worth noting the foreshadowing of Lady Macbeth's demise later in the play with these words. She will be the one, ultimately, who is haunted by pictures of "the dead" and she will replay her nightmare of killing Duncan while "sleep"walking. Act 5, scene 5 Macbeth is confident that he can withstand any siege from Malcolm’s forces. He is then told of Lady Macbeth’s death and of the apparent movement of Birnam Wood toward Dunsinane Castle, where he waits. He desperately resolves to abandon the castle and give battle to Malcolm in the field. I liked part one and three and I would have enjoyed the book way more if it would have been all written from Porteous' point of view. I was really interested in the investigation, how they figure it out, who they suspect, why, what does the forensics find, and all that exciting stuff, but instead I got this insecure librarian who's just been through a divorce, and her rebel teenage daughter who thinks she's all grown up. At some point I was so bored and ready to drop it. The only thing keeping me reading was wanting to know who did it. As Porteous digs into the past and Hannah does her best to avoid her memories of that same past, the mystery of what happened to Michael Grey slowly begins to come to light, but not before more lives are lost.

Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand?’– Similar images are to be found in a number of classical tragedies: Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus , 1227; Seneca, Phaedra , 715-8; Seneca Hercules Furens , 1323-9.

Act 5, scene 2 A Scottish force, in rebellion against Macbeth, marches toward Birnam Wood to join Malcolm and his English army. She is comparing the dead king with the sort of scary pictures, dummies, and wooden dolls that are brought out on occasions like Halloween. They are intended to be frightening, but only little children are ever frightened. So she is saying that her husband is acting childishly. The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures, and the painted devils are also only pictures. There is obviously a difference in their characters. She is a realist. She can look at the dead king without feeling frightened because she knows he is like a picture; whereas Macbeth is not frightened at the prospect of merely looking at Duncan but horrified at the prospect of being reminded of what a truly awful thing he has done. Duncan may be dead, but there is still a lot more to come--which Lady Macbeth doesn't even think about. She will be relieved of a lot of that stress because she is a woman. As Macduff says in Act 2, Scene 3: On a second thought, I might have disliked Porteous too if I would have read more of his thoughts. After all I didn't really like anyone.In this passage, Lady Macbeth is chiefly attempting to quiet her husband and to impress upon him that no one has actually witnessed the murder he has committed. Macbeth is terrified that his killing of Duncan will be discovered. Both this fear and his sense of guilt are causing him in effect to hallucinate, as he will continue to do as the action of the drama develops. A voice has been heard crying that Macbeth has "murdered sleep" and that he shall "sleep no more." In Macbeth and other works of Shakespeare, it's often an open question as to whether such perceptions by people in a hyperemotional state are in fact illusory or are, rather, supernatural occurrences. But whatever our interpretation, it's clear that Lady Macbeth wishes to dismiss her husband's fears and that she's impatient with him and even slightly disgusted with the terrified manner in which he has reacted to the situation. By saying that the sleeping and the dead are mere pictures, she's implying that they can't hurt him any more than a lifeless picture or image could do. Act 2, scene 1 Banquo, who has accompanied Duncan to Inverness, is uneasy because he too is tempted by the witches’ prophecies, although only in his dreams. Macbeth pretends to have forgotten them. Left alone by Banquo, Macbeth sees a gory dagger leading him to Duncan’s room. Hearing the bell rung by Lady Macbeth to signal completion of her preparations for Duncan’s death, Macbeth exits to kill the king. Shakespeare is full of these reverberations, and it is astonishing when you consider the connections that exist between seemingly simple lines of text and actions and words spoken by other characters in the play. Act 1, scene 4 Duncan demands and receives assurances that the former thane of Cawdor has been executed. When Macbeth, Banquo, Ross, and Angus join Duncan, he offers thanks to Macbeth and Banquo. He then announces his intention to have his son Malcolm succeed him as king and his plan to visit Macbeth at Inverness. Macbeth sets out ahead of him to prepare for the royal visit. Now that Malcolm has been named Duncan’s successor, Macbeth is convinced that he can become king only by killing Duncan.