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Lady Macbeth Sleepwalking Essay

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Lady Macbeth Sleepwalking

There are many adaptations of William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, such as these two vaguely similar oil paintings which are representing the sleepwalking Lady Macbeth. Eugène Delacroix’s Lady Macbeth Sleepwalking (1849-1850) and Johann Heinrich Füssli’s Lady Macbeth Sleepwalking (1784) are two art works which are highly rely on the sleepwalking scene of Macbeth. These two works show the ambiguity and symbolism of darkness and light, fear and the consciousness of Lady Macbeth. In addition to Lady Macbeth’s fearful expression and tightly hold candle, the dark themed paintings suggest a deeper meaning of her chronic sleepwalking.
The two oil canvas paintings representing Lady Macbeth are highly symbolistic paintings …show more content…

Lady Macbeth firmly holds a candle stick which not only illuminates her way as she is approaching from the contrasting shadows, but the two observing figures who seem highly concerned about her state of mind. The color contrast is very dramatic in these paintings, especially in Delacroix’s artwork, where Lady Macbeth is wrapped up in her nightgown or heavy drapery, and despite from her face which is lit from a tiny taper, which she firmly holds, the rest of the scenery is barely visible. However, if the viewer takes a closer look, the two already mentioned figures are somewhat visible with their also fearful and worried faces. Lady Macbeth’s face is horrified and full of sorrow which mostly contrasts in her deep, almost pitch black eyes. Her slightly open mouth shapes an “O” as she just got scared, although she is subconsciously walking alone in the dark night. Her open eyes, however, might seem confusing, because they suggest vigilance. Füssli’s Lady Macbeth, however, seems more terrorized and agonised, than Delacroix’s. Lady Macbeth is rushing through the corridors with an

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