Sleepwalking Scene - Wikipedia

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Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Critically celebrated scene from Macbeth

Act 5, Scene 1, better known as the sleepwalking scene, is a critically celebrated scene from William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (1606). It deals with the guilt and madness experienced by Lady Macbeth, one of the main themes of the play.

Carrying a taper (candlestick), Lady Macbeth enters sleepwalking. The Doctor and the Gentlewoman stand aside to observe. The Doctor asks how Lady Macbeth came to have the light. The Gentlewoman replies she has ordered a light be beside her at all times (she is now afraid of the dark, having committed her crimes under its cover). Lady Macbeth rubs her hands in a washing motion. With anguish, she recalls the deaths of King Duncan, Lady Macduff, and Banquo, then leaves. The Gentlewoman and the bewildered Doctor exeunt, realizing these are the symptoms of a guilt-ridden mind. The Doctor feels Lady Macbeth is beyond his help, saying she has more need of "the divine than the physician". He orders the Gentlewoman to remove from Lady Macbeth the "means of all annoyance", anticipating she might commit suicide. Despite his warning, the audience is informed in Act 5, Scene 5, that Lady Macbeth has managed to commit suicide off-stage.

Performances

[edit]

In modern times, Francesca Annis garnered attention for her performance in Roman Polanski's film version of Macbeth (1971), in which she performs the sleepwalking soliloquy in the nude. The critic Kenneth Tynan was present when the scene was shot:

Francesca does it very sportingly and with no fuss ... though of course the set is closed, great curtains are drawn around the acting area ... and the wardrobe mistress rushes to cover Francesca with a dressing gown the instant Roman says, 'Cut'.[1]

References

[edit] English Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act V

1. ^ Diary, 16 February 1971: The Diaries of Kenneth Tynan (ed. John Lahr, 2001)

v t e William Shakespeare's Macbeth
Characters	Macbeth Lady Macbeth Banquo Macduff King Duncan Malcolm Donalbain Three Witches Fleance Lady Macduff Macduff's son Third Murderer Young Siward
Inspirations	Macbeth, King of Scotland Gruoch of Scotland Duncan I of Scotland Malcolm III of Scotland Donald III of Scotland Siward, Earl of Northumbria King James VI and I
Sources	Daemonologie (1597) The Witch (play) Holinshed's Chronicles Darraðarljóð
Film	1908 1909 (French) 1909 (Italian) 1911 1913 1915 1916 1922 1948 Unfinished 1971 2006 2015 The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) accolades
Television	1954 1960 US TV 1960 Australian TV 1961 1979 1981 1982 1983 1992 2010
TV / film adaptations	The Real Thing at Last (1916) Marmayogi (1951) Joe MacBeth (1955) Throne of Blood (1957) Marmayogi (1964) Macbeth (Verdi opera) (1987) Men of Respect (1990) Scotland, PA (2001) Makibefo (2001) Maqbool (2003) 2005 The Last King of Scotland (2006) Shakespeare Must Die (2012) Thane of East County (2015) Veeram (2016) Joji (2021)
Plays	Khwab-e-Hasti (1909) Voodoo Macbeth (1936) MacBird! (1967) uMabatha (1970) Macbett (1972) Cahoot's Macbeth (1979) MacHomer (1995) Just Macbeth! (2008) Sleep No More (2009) Dunsinane (2010) Sleep No More (2011)
Literary adaptations	Wyrd Sisters (1988) The Last King of Scotland (1998) Macbeth (2018)
Music	Macbeth (Johann Strauss) Piano Trios, Op. 70 (Ludwig van Beethoven) Macbeth (Arthur Sullivan, 1888) Music from Macbeth (1972) Macbeth (1990) Thane to the Throne (2000) Shakespeare's Macbeth – A Tragedy in Steel (2003) Lady Macbeth (2005) Opera Macbeth (1847, Verdi) discography Macbeth (1910, Bloch)
Art	Lady Macbeth Sleepwalking (1784) Pity (1795) The Night of Enitharmon's Joy (1795) Lady Macbeth Seizing the Daggers (1812 painting) Macbeth (1820 painting) Macbeth and the Witches (1850) Macbeth and the Three Witches (1855) Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth (1889) Lady Macbeth (1905 sculpture)
Scenes and speeches	"On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth" (1823) Sleepwalking Scene (5.1) "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow"
Words and phrases	"What's done is done" "Crack of doom" The Scottish Play Thane of Cawdor
In popular culture	Novels, film and theatre We Work Again Light Thickens The Deadly Affair Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine The Scottish Play Burke & Hare Television "A Witch's Tangled Hare" (1959, Looney Tunes) "The Bellero Shield" (1964, The Outer Limits) "The Movies" (1975, The Goodies) "Sense and Senility" (1987, Blackadder the Third) "The Coup" (2006, The Office) "Dial 'N' for Nerder" (2008, The Simpsons) "Four Great Women and a Manicure" (2009, The Simpsons) "The Shower Principle" (2012, 30 Rock) "The Understudy" (2014, Inside No. 9)
Other	The Scottish Play The Ruins of Cawdor House of Cards (UK, 1990) House of Cards (US, 2013–2018) Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury)
Related	Birnam Oak

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