Sleep: It's hard to live with, consistently depriving most people of about a third of their day, but it's even harder to deal with the consequences of insomnia. We've all had times when we couldn't fall asleep at night, but for Macbeth this is a constant problem and in his waking hours he has to deal with the guilt he brought on by killing King Duncan. Insomnia causes a number of problems in the victim, losing concentration, impairing social interactions, and other such problems that ultimately hurt the victim, or in Macbeth's case, he is a victim of his own decisions. Insomnia causes unimaginable problems for Macbeth in Macbeth; insomnia leads Macbeth to isolate himself, make reckless decisions, and ultimately succumb to madness. Due to insomnia Macbeth is isolated from society. Macbeth's isolation is clearly demonstrated in Macbeth after he kills Duncan and anxiously states, "still he cried 'sleep no more!' All through the house Glamis hath killed sleep, and then Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more” (Shakespeare 2.2.40-42). This is the beginning of Macbeth's problems because if he had never killed Duncan, he could have avoided all the problems to come and he immediately feels targeted because a voice specifically named him and condemned him to insomnia. This is important because Macbeth becomes so distraught over Duncan's murder and almost like a deer in the headlights, he will be shot because he is unable to move, but he will not know when his misery will finally end. "Shakespeare's metaphor of sleep as the death of everyday life had a deeper meaning than it might at first seem." (Delany 209) For Macbeth this means that the day he killed Duncan will not be… in the middle of the paper. .....d until late at night. Macbeth is a true example of the complications of insomnia and shows that while most people hate sleep because it robs them of precious time, it is even more difficult to deal with the complications of insomnia. Works Cited Delaney, Bill. "Shakespeare's MACBETH." Explainer 63.4 (2005): 209-211. Literary reference center. EBSCO. Network. February 11, 2010. Johnson, G. “'AT THE EDGE OF AN ABYSS': THE WRITER AS SLEEPLESS.” Virginia Quarterly Review 66.4 (1990): 643-655. Literary reference center. EBSCO. Network. February 4, 2010. Kinsella, Kate. Prentice Hall Literature Timeless Voices Timeless Themes: The British Tradition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. 300-388. Print.McIlvaine, Robert. “A SHAKESPEAREAN ECHO IN “THE TELL-TALE HEART.” American Notes & Queries 15.3 (1976): 38. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. February 5. 2010.