Rapture and Horror: A Phenomenology of Theatrical Invisibility in Macbeth

Abstract

Macbeth is arguably Shakespeare’s greatest experiment in the phenomenology of horrible imaginings. For all of its visible supernatural trappings, Macbeth is a play radically steeped in the invisible, which exerts a gravitational force on all aspects of performance. The phantom dagger, King Duncan’s slain body, Lady Macbeth’s murky hell—these unseen supernatural sights are as phenomenologically palpable and horrifying in the theater as the weird sisters are. Invisible elements of the play’s world permeate the visible, producing a pervasive sense of unease, dread, and horror in the theater. The experience of horror co-exists with another strongly felt experience, that of rapture, which arises especially in moments when the Macbeths are fascinated with invisible phenomena and enter into trance-like states of deep absorption, ecstasy, and madness.