Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse is a 1784 oil painting by Joshua Reynolds. Mrs. Sarah Siddons: Sarah Siddons was a well-known actress of the 18th century who became famous for her role as Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. Born Sarah Kemble, aged 18 she married William Siddons, also an actor, and they had seven children of who only two survived. Sarah's parents sent her to work as a lady's maid and with this job she was exposed to the works of England's literary greats such as Milton and Shakespeare. She also began acting and had
To Mrs Siddons Characters" discusses, representatives from the theatre industry was limited to Siddons, as an actress, and Richard Sheridan, a playwright. Although Coleridge writes about her and many people viewed Siddons as an important actress, Siddons had little actual contact or involvement with the Romantic poets beyond knowing Walter Scott and once meeting Lord Byron. The poem refers to various roles that Siddons, as an actress, would have played by discussing plays that she was a member. It is possible that these references are to William Shakespeare's "Macbeth", "Hamlet", or "Richard III" along with Nicholas Rowe's "Tragedy of Jane Shore". Besides the