Beginning of Essay
When I thought about the role that the word "night" would play in the tragic play "Macbeth," I found that there were a variety of possibilities. Immediately, I thought of the nighttime as a period of rest and revitalization. I expected that this would allow charac ....

Middle of Essay
.... As I read the play and came upon the word "night," I was surprised to discover that all four aspects of my hypothesis were correct. First, in act I, we see the first usage, night as a period for rest and revitalization. In scene iii, lines 19-23, the First Witch says, Sleep shall neither night nor day / Hang upon his penthouse lid; / He shall live a man forbid: / Weary sev'nights nine times nine / Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine: / Though his bark cannot be lost, / Yet it shall be tempest-tossed. Here, she is punishing the sailor by depriving him of his sleep, which she realizes is important for anyone to function normally. Without the ability to r ....