Eiichiro Oda has crafted the One Piece world so intricately that fans can’t help but come up with countless theories behind every instance. The fact that Oda loves playing with dramatic twists and foreshadowing makes fans even more eager to figure out easter eggs.
But rarely do you come across a fan theory that will blow your mind. However, a crazy One Piece fan theory draws parallels between Blackbeard and Shakespeare’s play Macbeth to explain Blackbeard’s future conquests.
Consequently, it also explains several of Blackbeard’s character traits, like his consumption of more than one Devil Fruit and his inability to sleep.
Blackbeard is the Macbeth of One Piece
Before understanding why Blackbeard never sleeps, you must know his correlation with Macbeth. The major points in Macbeth’s tale include being instigated by three witches that he will be the King of Scotland. He was a trusted thane of the king before he tried to usurp power. Similarly, Blackbeard was with the Whitebeard Pirates for 26 years before he betrayed them. He chose to lie in wait for the Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit).
This prophecy coupled with Lady Macbeth’s call to action and Macbeth’s own ambitions, lead him to murdering King Duncan, and taking his place. Macbeth then loses his sleep, almost as if he had murdered it with Duncan. Macbeth chose to murder Duncan when he was asleep in the middle of the night. In the same vein, Blackbeard murdered Whitebeard only when he was at his weakest.
Macbeth’s companion Banquo, on the other hand, was prophesied to beget a line of kings but would not be one himself. In this case, Ace could be called the Banquo to Blackbeard as both of them were nakama. Macbeth ultimately ends up killing Banquo to preserve his position, and Blackbeard does the same to Ace.
Next, Macbeth is murdered by Macduff, who seeks revenge for his family. The seat of the king is inherited by Malcolm who is Banquo’s son. Luffy can embody both Malcolm and Macduff, as One Piece might have taken inspiration from Macbeth, but it is not a complete copy.
Why does Blackbeard never sleep?
One Piece has frequently revealed that Blackbeard never sleeps, but how is it possible for a severe insomniac to stay sane like this? The Macbeth theory has an answer to that as well; in fact, there are two theories that can explain Blackbeard’s condition via Shakespeare’s play.
A very famous quote in Macbeth presents the character’s insomnia after killing Duncan:
“Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep!”
– Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2
Macbeth not only suffers from guilt for killing his king, but he can no longer fall asleep because he killed Duncan in his sleep. Thus, Macbeth thinks he must always stay alert if he wants to keep his position.
The next theory is regarding the absence of a Lady Macbeth equivalence in One Piece. It is possible that Blackbeard himself contains two personalities, which is further proved by his ability to hold the powers of two Devil Fruits in his body. Thus, his personalities take turns to handle the body, leaving Blackbeard no time to sleep.
The theory also suggests that Blackbeard has an evil personality that pushed him to murder Thatch, Whitebeard, and other characters. His good personality was in control before, but is slowly getting overpowered.
Why will Blackbeard become the King of Pirates?
If you follow the parallels between Macbeth and Blackbeard, you will realize that both of them have to reach the highest position before they can have a fall. Macbeth became the King of Scotland and went on a murderous rampage. Blackbeard is currently doing the same after disposing of Whitebeard. Next, he must become the King of Pirates to set the stage for his downfall.
However, in order to motivate Macduff’s revenge, Macbeth needed to kill his family. Similarly, Blackbeard needs to kill someone close to Luffy to drive him to desperation. This is where Shanks enters. His closeness with Luffy might eventually get him killed to serve as Luffy’s motive.
The theory also suggests that at one point, Eiichiro Oda will introduce characters equivalent to the three witches in Macbeth. After all, Blackbeard has been shown to have very strong ambitions since he was a teenager, which seems farfetched if he was not being guided by someone.
You can read the One Piece manga on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
