The Sleep-Symbol in "A Midsummer Night¿s Dream" and in "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2, , language: English, abstract: This paper is about the symbol ¿sleep¿ in Shakespeare¿s plays ¿A Midsummer Night¿s Dream¿ and ¿Macbeth¿. The author will discuss the definition and the role of sleep, in the two already mentioned works, in chapter 2 and 3 by analysing the symbol in detail, by giving examples and quoting relevant passages from the text. As ¿A Midsummer Night¿s Dream¿ is a comedy and ¿Macbeth¿ a tragedy, these terms also have to be explained. Therefore, ¿sleep¿ further has to be analysed by taking the aspects of a comedy and tragedy into consideration. The next chapter is dedicated to the comparison of the sleep-symbol between ¿A Midsummer Night¿s Dream¿ and ¿Macbeth¿. To sum it up, the main focus of this paper is to emphasize the importance of the sleep-symbol and its consequences on the plot and outcome of the two plays (chapter 5).