Is There an Audience in the Lady’s Bedchamber? Shakespeare’s Dramatic Trope in the Sleep-Walking Scene in Macbeth

Abstract

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the famous Sleep-Walking scene of Lady Macbeth also includes two observers, the Waiting-Gentlewoman and the Doctor of Physic, who play multiple roles during this scene, as well as in the development of the Lady’s character. In their somewhat choric role, they amplify the Lady’s utterances, and sway the audience’s attitude. In applying the moral yardstick, their brief observation and comments are really significant. Standing in-between the Lady and the audience, they let the playwright employ his favourite trope of play-within-the-play. In their crucial roles as interpreters, they also help the critics establish the gendered logocentrism in analysing events and characters.

Keywords

• audience
• metatheatre
• performance