The sleepwalking scene in act five is a significant scene in the play because it finally exposes the vulnerability, or "human" side of Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play, she seems "ice cold" showing no remorse and little concern for her actions. The sleepwalking scene finally reveals that Lady Macbeth is in fact troubled by the events that have taken place regarding Duncan, Lady Macduff, and Banquo's deaths.
For me, an actresses portrayal of Lady Macbeth must include signs of guilt, paranoia and insecurity. Of the three scenes on Youtube, I think Judi Dench was the best.
Shirley Verrett can obviously sing. However, Their was a limit to what I could decipher from her character through song. Jane Lapotaire and Judi Dench had many similarities in their scenes. The gentlewoman and the doctor were very effective in their supporting roles and the settings presented a dark and mysterious mood. The constant rubbing of the hands was popular in both scenes as well. Clearly, both performances captured the emotions of Lady Macbeth, showing how heavily murder was weighing on her conscience.
In the end, I just felt like Judi Dench went the extra yard. She came across as a little more disturbed and hysterical. Her scream after "This Little Hand" was pretty intense and I also felt that she incorporated the candle into the scene a little better. The candle is a significant part of the scene in that it is symbolic of life, as it was in Othello also.
I must admit that Lapotaire's performance was how I envisioned Lady Macbeth and I did appreciate her passion, but Judi Dench is an Academy Award winning actress so maybe I'm a little bias.
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Also, the candle in the darkness is symbolic of a) "being afraid of the monsters in the dark" and b) trying to light the darkness (uncover truth).
I agree with you. The sleep walking scene is veery symbolic. Especially the way she is trying to wash the blood off of your hands. The sleep walking sleeping express everything that Lady Macbeth have been hodlong in ever since the murder of the king.
I agree with you. The sleep walking scene is veery symbolic. Especially the way she is trying to wash the blood off of your hands. The sleep walking sleeping express everything that Lady Macbeth have been hodlong in ever since the murder of the king.
its true that the sleep walking scene is very symbolic ,, that shows that lady macbeth is kinda scared after the kings death .... actually i really like the candle thing coz it wus presented in othello too !!!!!!!
Of course the candle has symbolic meaning . As you say for Judi part I was thinking of her more of Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love. Its hard to judge her as we already think she is good actrees and its hard to compare someone else with her
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