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 allusions to plays, the beginning of the poem compares Siddons's acting having a power over Coleridge as a children's story. Coleridge's impression of Siddons would continue for years after; in February 1797 Coleridge started creating a play that he hoped that Siddons would have a part. The play, called "Osorio", was later rejected by the producers at Drury Lane, the theatre that he hoped would perform the play. To Mrs Siddons "To Mrs Siddons" was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and published in the 29 December 1794 "Morning Chronicle" as part of the "Sonnets on Eminent Characters" series. It describes