What is the importance of Sleep Walking Scene in Macbeth?
When the sleepwalking scene occurs, we haven’t seen Lady Macbeth on stage for awhile. When we last saw her, it was clear that the relationship between her and Macabeth was already beginning to unravel. I think that Shakespeare meant for audiences to be SHOCKED by the extent of Lady M.’s degradation in the sleepwalking scene. She’s clearly mad, and is consumed by guilt over her part in King Duncan’s murder. We learn that she is afraid to be in the dark (that’s why she carries the candle), and we know that she has to be watched constantly (that’s why the doctor and nurse are also part of the scene). Right after Macbeth killed Duncan, and had the King’s blood on his hands, Lady M. said: “A little water clears us of this deed.” When we see her in the sleepwalking scene, we realize how very wrong she was.
