Macbeth - Analysis of the Sleepwalking Scene
Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene How does Shakespeare make this scene dramatic and significant? In this essay I will be examining Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene. I will look at how Shakespeare made the scene dramatic and creepy. It is a significant scene in the play as it is the last time Lady Macbeth is seen alive. It shows Lady Macbeth’s change over the play, and displays Shakespeare’s incredible insight into the workings of the human mind. The scene shows the contrast between Lady Macbeth’s earlier attitude to murder, and her state at that time, which lead to her suicide. During the course of the Lady’s nightmare, there are many references to previous scenes, mainly ones where she had displayed unwavering confidence and strength of mind. Many of the references are repetitions of earlier quotes, some are direct contradictions, and a few are vaguely related words or phrases. Present during the scene are Lady Macbeth’s gentlewoman and a doctor. The doctor is there to try and see what is wrong with her, but ends up witnessing the almost solid confession of both the Macbeths’ horrible deeds. I will be looking at the scene in detail, observing the qualities of the writing of it, as well as the clever linking with previous scenes. The scene occurs towards the end of the play, as things start to move faster and you get the feeling of an approaching climax. The scene before it is the preparation for war in England with Ross, Malcolm and Macduff. In that scene, Macduff finds out that his wife and children have been killed. Lady Macbeth mentions them in her dream. The scene prepares the audience for her unavoidable suicide, as she seems unable to live with her actions. The scene begins with the doctor and the gentlewoman talking. The Gentlewoman describes the Lady’s previous actions while sleepwalking. ‘Unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write upon’t, read it and afterwards seal it…’ This is the first evidence of Lady Macbeth relating back to earlier scenes in the play. This is probably going right back to the root of their problems, when Macbeth sent his wife a letter explaining the recent unusual happenings. He told her that he had been promised the position of king by the three witches he had met. This is when Lady Macbeth was filled with a desire for greatness, and probably is the first time she contemplated the ‘removal’ of Duncan. The gentlewoman
goes onto say that she will not repeat anything the Queen had said. The fact that she will not repeat the words puts a suspicious atmosphere on the scene. The audience would be wondering what horrors she had uncovered during the Lady’s dreaming. After this, Lady Macbeth enters, with a taper (a long candle). The doctor asks where she got the light from, and the gentlewoman replies that the Queen always has light by her. This is a direct contradiction to the earlier phrase said by her. She asked the night to wrap around her, so no-one could see her ...
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goes onto say that she will not repeat anything the Queen had said. The fact that she will not repeat the words puts a suspicious atmosphere on the scene. The audience would be wondering what horrors she had uncovered during the Lady’s dreaming. After this, Lady Macbeth enters, with a taper (a long candle). The doctor asks where she got the light from, and the gentlewoman replies that the Queen always has light by her. This is a direct contradiction to the earlier phrase said by her. She asked the night to wrap around her, so no-one could see her terrible deeds; ‘Come thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark’. This is right back at the start, when she is still very confident and head-strong. She originally asked the night to hide her actions. Now she keeps light by her at all times, as if she doesn’t want to be swallowed by the blackness, which she will subconsciously associate with the bloody murder of Duncan. The doctor notices that Lady Macbeth is rubbing her hands. The Gentlewoman adds to that by saying that it is an accustomed action of hers, and she does it often. The rubbing of her hands is her reliving the washing of them to get Duncan’s blood off them. The Queen then speaks for the first time, saying ‘Yet here’s a spot.’ This is her looking at her hands and realising that not all the blood is off them. The doctor says that he will write everything she says down. The audience at this point would be wondering how much she was going to say, and reveal. The Lady then bursts into a rather indiscreet speech, which I will look at carefully, to reveal all the hidden meanings. The first line is ‘Out, damned spot! Out, I say’. Here she is getting frustrated at the fact that the blood will not wash off her hands. This is another contradiction, this time to a confidence-giving sentence she said to Macbeth after the murder of Duncan, ‘A little water clears us of this deed’. She was calming Macbeth, who was worrying about the blood on his hands, and saying that all they had to do was wash their hands, and they would be ok. Obviously, with her self-belief shattered, the blood doesn’t come off so easily. She then says ‘One, two. Why then ‘tis time to do’t.’ Here she is referring to the two strikes of the bell, which signalled Macbeth’s time to kill the King. The second line confirms this. The next short line is switching topics again, showing that Lady Macbeth is madly rambling about different recent events. ‘Hell is murky’. This refers back to her plea to the night again, specifically the line ‘pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell’. Dunnest is another word for murkiest, so her comment about hell being murky would line up with her earlier request. She is then talking to Macbeth in her dream. ‘Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard?’ I believe this to be referring to the scene with Banquo’s ghost. Macbeth witnessed the ghost, and says to the Queen ‘If I stand here, I saw him.’ The Queen then replies ‘Fie, for shame.’ The line calls Macbeth a Lord and a soldier, then questions that he is scared. Fie is used to show express disapproval of someone or something. The line reads that Lady Macbeth is annoyed, maybe ashamed of Macbeth for being scared, because he is a soldier and a Lord. This is why I think it is relating to the Banquo’s ghost scene, because Macbeth was certainly afraid in that scene. The next line, I feel is referring back to the same time during the play. ‘What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?’ Rather than referring to a spoken part of the play, this may be relating to a thought she could have had. She is saying that it doesn’t matter who knows, because they are the monarchs, and their authority cannot be challenged. The last line says ‘Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?’ Here she is talking about Duncan, the old king. When they murdered him, there was blood all over Macbeth’s hands and daggers, and also on Lady Macbeth’s. The doctor then says ‘Do you mark that?’ The audience at this point will be worried for the Queen, as she is displaying her darkest secrets for the two to see. They will wonder how much more the Lady will reveal, before the nightmare is finished. The Lady then goes right into another paragraph. ‘The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?’ The Thane of Fife is Macduff, whose wife was, only two scenes previously, murdered in her castle. This is the Lady revealing yet another crime the pair are guilty of. The first sentence also creates a rhyme, which adds to the sinister atmosphere. She then says ‘What, will these hands ne’er be clean?’ Once again she is talking about the blood on her hands, and the fact that she cannot wash it off. The Queen then goes back to the Banquet with Banquo’s ghost. (Banquet: Banquo… Coincidence or Mind Play?) She says ‘No more o’that, my lord, no more o’that. You mar all with this starting.’ During the scene, Lady Macbeth continuously tries to calm Macbeth down, so that he will not worry the guests or say anything that might incriminate them. During that scene, the Lady tells Macbeth; ‘You have displac’d the mirth, broke the good meeting with most admir’d disorder.’ This relates to the second half of the quote, ‘You mar all with this starting.’ The doctor then tells the Gentlewoman to go, telling her she has heard what she shouldn’t have. He is probably concerned for her safety with the knowledge, knowing that the pair are extremely ruthless. She refuses and the Queen speaks again. ‘Here’s the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. O, O, O.’ This is a very similar line to one spoken by Macbeth shortly after the murder of Duncan. He says ‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No…’ The line also contradicts the Lady’s line; ‘A little water clears us of this deed.’ Water is a very common substance, which is easily available. However, Arabian perfumes were very expensive and only available to the people who could afford it. This is a huge difference. She was once claiming that a small amount of the most commonly available substance would clean her hands. Now she is saying that even if they bought every reserve of the most expensive substance, it wouldn’t help at all. It also shows that even though she said it was easy to get rid of the sight of blood, the other effects of it would last much longer. The Doctor and Gentlewoman then converse sympathetically about the Lady. The Queen then continues with her dream. ‘Wash your hands, put on your night-gown, look not so pale.’ This is connected to just after Duncan’s murder, when the Lady is pulling Macbeth together and showing her strength. She then goes into another scene where she had to be strong; ‘I tell you again, Banquo’s buried; he cannot come out on’s grave.’ The banquet scene was the scene where the Lady showed most her confidence and calm nature. She had to settle down Macbeth, and convince him Banquo was dead, and that it is impossible for him to come alive again. Her final paragraph is; ‘To bed, to bed; there’s knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give me your hand; what’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed.’ After the murder of Duncan, there was a knocking at the castle gate, and the pair rushed off to bed, with the Lady still comforting Macbeth. Although at the time, she was confident and clear headed, the repetition shows that now, she is not so sure of herself. She then heads directly to bed. Shakespeare’s understanding of the mind is shown, during this scene, as way ahead of his time. During the scene, Lady Macbeth often repeats scenes where she was strong and confident, and had to help Macbeth to get through the difficult times. This emphasises the amount of change between then and now, and tells us that she was very upset and didn’t adjust well to the switching of rolls. This may be playing on the fact that now she needs help, Macbeth is not there, and is busy dealing with what became of the deeds she encouraged him to commit. I think that in this scene, Lady Macbeth’s references to the blood on her hands, and not coming off, have deeper meaning. I believe that the blood is representing her guilt at what she has done. That guilt drove her mad, which is why she continuously complains about the blood during her nightmare. Not only is the scene a portrayal of the playwright’s knowledge and understanding, it also once again proves his writing skills. The way he wrote the scene was specific to create the intended atmosphere. This would have been very foreboding and chilling. During the scene, the Queen uses repetition at some points. ‘O, O, O.’, ‘To bed, to bed, to bed.’ and ‘Come, come, come, come.’ This shows her unease and nervousness. The flittering between events in her dream creates the feeling that the Lady is going mad, and that the guilt of what she’s done is driving her that way. Overall, this scene is one of the most significant in the play. The speeches of Lady Macbeth during the scene give the scene the feel of a strange madness, which must have had a startling effect on the audience. The clever contradictions and similarities with previous scenes make this scene feel very important. Although the audience may not have appreciated all of the minor connections, they most certainly would have recognised a few. The sympathy for Lady Macbeth would also be present, due to the saddened way she speaks at times. At the end of the scene, the audience would be left wondering what horror is to come, as no scene that dark-minded could not be followed up with something dreadful. This scene definitely shows Shakespeare’s class; it is so well written, it is as if the whole play was written just for that one scene to connect it all up.