O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep;
Her wagon-spokes made of long spinners' legs,
The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,
The traces of the smallest spider's web,
The collars of the moonshine's watery beams,
Her whip of cricket's bone, the lash of film,
Her wagoner a small grey-coated gnat,
Not so big as a round little worm
Prick'd from the lazy finger of a maid;
Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut
Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,
Time out o' mind the fairies' coachmakers.
And in this state she gallops night by night
Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love;
O'er courtiers' knees, that dream on court'sies straight,
O'er lawyers' fingers, who straight dream on fees,
O'er ladies ' lips, who straight on kisses dream,
Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues,
Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are:
Sometime she gallops o'er a courtier's nose,
And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;
And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig's tail
Tickling a parson's nose as a' lies asleep,
Then dreams, he of another benefice:
Sometime she driveth o'er a soldier's neck,
And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,
Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon
Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,
And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two
And sleeps again. This is that very Mab
That plats the manes of horses in the night,
And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,
Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes:
This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage.
(1.4.57-98) / Paraphrase
O, then, I see Queen Mab has paid you a visit.
She is the fairy responsible for dreaming, assuming a shape
No bigger than an image engraved on a stone in the ring
On the index finger of a politician,
Drawn (in her chariot) by a team of creatures as tiny as atoms
Across the noses of men as they lie asleep;
Her wagon-spokes are made of long spiders' legs,
The cover is made of grasshoppers' wings,
The harness is made of the smallest spider's web,
The collars (around their necks) are made of thin moonbeams,
Her whip is made of a cricket's bone, the lash is made of film,
Her charioteer is a small grey mosquito,
Not even as big as a parasite
Pulled off the lazy finger of a maid;
Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut
Made by the carpenter squirrel or old worm,
(Who have been) the fairies' coach-makers since time began.
And with this splendour she gallops night after night
Through the brains of lovers, and then they dream of love;
Over the knees of courtiers, that dream on bowing to gain favour at Court,
Over the fingers of lawyers, who immediately dream of fees,
Over the lips of ladies, who immediately dream of kisses,
Who the angry Mab often plagues with blisters,
Because they have eaten candied fruit to sweeten their breath:
Sometimes she gallops over the nose of a courtier,
And then he dreams of some promotion within the Court;
And sometimes she comes with the tail of a pig intended to pay the Church,
Tickling a minister's nose as he lies asleep,
And then he dreams of another way to increase his income:
Sometimes she drives over the neck of a soldier,
And then he dreams of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambushes, the finest swords (thought to be Spanish),
Of toasting friends with overflowing cups; and then right away
He hears drums in his ear (for battle), which startles and wakes him,
And, being frightened, he says a hollow prayer or two
And sleeps again. This is that very Mab
That tangles the manes of horses in the night,
And plasters on bloody knots in the hair of sluttish women,
The untangling of which brings much misfortune (either the ire of Mab or possibly infection):
This is the hag, who, when virgins lie on their backs,
Pushes on them and teaches them to stand the act (of intercourse),
Making them able to bear the load (of their husbands' weight).
Character Study: Mercutio
Mercutio is considered one of the more memorable characters in the entire play. For that reason I would like to spend a little bit of extra time on him.
- How does Mercutio treat Romeo? How do you know? Use an example.
- Take a look at the translation of his “Queen Mab” Speech. How do you notice the mood changes as the speech moves forward?
- Pick one example of a line that was initially confusing and was cleared up in the translation. Use this example to explain how Shakespeare language was different than the ways that we use language today.
- What does Mercutio think about dreams? Why does he insert this speech as Romeo tries to explain a dream that he had? What does this tell us about him as a character? Use an example.