A Comparison of the BBC Shorts Production depicts Act 1 Scene 7 in their televised version of the play Macbeth by Shakespeare

For my English coursework on Macbeth, I am going to study how the BBC's Short Stories depicts Lady Macbeth in their production of the play. The section of the play that I am going to focus on is Act 1 Scene 7. This scene is all about Lady Macbeth persuading Macbeth, her husband, to murder Duncan. Louise Lombard (who plays Lady Macbeth) does not agree with the common opinion that Lady Macbeth is evil personified, but instead tries to explain why Lady Macbeth acts the way she does.

In dialogue, Louise Lombard says she does not believe that Lady Macbeth is evil, but that the character does what she has to do to make sure that Macbeth kills Duncan to become King. Lady Macbeth knows that if he does not kill Duncan and become King, he will become disgruntled as he never reached his full potential. It is so important to Lady Macbeth that Macbeth becomes King, because for her to have power Macbeth had to do well and to be in a position of authority and power.

Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole.

The sleepwalking Lady Macbeth

Sarah Siddons in the Sleepwalking Scene

The first time we see Lady Macbeth in the scene, she looks away from the audience. This is unusual, because, normally, actors do not turn their backs to the audience as they rely on seeing the face of the actor to identify with them and read the emotions shown. The audience get to know a character by watching the faces and as they are unable to see Lady Macbeth's face, she is alienating herself from the audience. This may be why the viewers do not see what Lady Macbeth is really like as we do not get a complete first impression.

When Lady Macbeth enters the scene, the main background colours are black and red. The colour black is often associated with...