queen mab

• Who delivers a speech about Queen Mab in Act 1, scene 4?

  Mercutio
• What does Queen Mab bring to sleepers?

  Dreams
• What is a notable aspect of the dreams brought by Queen Mab?

  They confirm the dreamers' vices
• Which vices are mentioned as examples of what Queen Mab's dreams confirm?

  Greed, violence, and lust
• How does Mercutio describe the nature of his speech about Queen Mab?

  It is complete nonsense
• What pulls Queen Mab's carriage according to Mercutio?

  A small grey-coated gnat
• What does the description of Queen Mab emphasize about her and her carriage?

  They are tiny and insubstantial
• What do Queen Mab and her carriage symbolize according to Mercutio?

  Dreams and waking fantasies
• What does Mercutio suggest about desires and fantasies through Queen Mab imagery?

  They are nonsensical and fragile
• How does Mercutio's view of desires contrast with that of Romeo and Juliet?

  Mercutio sees them as corrupting, while Romeo and Juliet see love as ennobling
• ROMEO: I dreamt a dream tonight.MERCUTIO: And so did I.ROMEO: Well, what was yours?MERCUTIO: That dreamers often lie.ROMEO: In bed asleep while they do dream things true.MERCUTIO: Oh, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.BENVOLIO: Queen Mab, what’s she[?]MERCUTIO: She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comesIn shape no bigger than an agate stoneOn the forefinger of an alderman,Drawn with a team of little atomiOver men’s noses as they lie asleep.Her wagon spokes made of long spinners’ legs,The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,Her traces of the smallest spider’s web, (1.4.50–62)
• Who dreams in the dialogue between Romeo and Mercutio?

  Both Romeo and Mercutio
• What does Mercutio imply about dreamers?

  That dreamers often lie
• What does Romeo say about dreaming while asleep?

  They dream things true
• Who is Queen Mab according to Mercutio?

  The fairies' midwife
• How does Mercutio describe the size of Queen Mab?

  Tiny, no bigger than an agate stone
• And in this state she gallops night by nightThrough lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love;On courtiers’ knees, that dream on curtsies straight;O’er lawyers’ fingers, who straight dream on fees;O’er ladies lips, who straight on kisses dream, (1.4.71–75)
• What materials does Mercutio say Queen Mab's carriage is made of?

  Insect wings and spider's webs
• What does the description of Queen Mab suggest about her dreams?

  They are insubstantial and unreal
• What does Mercutio's description of Queen Mab imply about dreams in general?

  • Dreams are fragile and fleeting
  • They lack substance and reality
  • They are influenced by external factors
• What themes are present in Mercutio's speech about dreams?

  • The nature of dreams vs. reality
  • The fragility of human desires
  • The influence of external forces on perception
• Who is Queen Mab in Mercutio's description?

  The fairies' midwife
• What does Queen Mab bring to sleepers?

  Dreams that answer their deepest wishes
• What do lovers dream of according to Mercutio?

  Love
• What do courtiers dream of in Mercutio's description?

  Curtsies
• What do lawyers dream of according to Mercutio?

  Fees
• What do ladies dream of in Mercutio's description?

  Kisses
• 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 sometimes comes she with a tithe-pig’s tailTickling a parson’s nose as he lies asleep,Then he dreams of another benefice. (1.4.75–82)
• What does Mercutio suggest about the fulfillment of waking desires in dreams?

  They find fulfillment in dreams, not real life
• How does Mercutio characterize the desires filled by Queen Mab?

  As fantasies
• What are the main themes presented in Mercutio's description of Queen Mab?

  • Dreams reflect deepest wishes
  • Discrepancy between dreams and reality
  • Fantasies versus actual fulfillment
• Who is described in Mercutio's speech as causing dreams?

  Queen Mab
• What does Queen Mab do to ladies who kiss?

  She punishes them with blisters
• What does Mercutio suggest about the nature of dreams in his description of Queen Mab?

  Dreams reveal vices and greed in people
• How does Queen Mab affect a courtier's dreams?

  She makes him dream of a suit
• What does Queen Mab use to tickle a parson's nose?

  A tithe-pig's tail
• What does Mercutio imply about the dreams of the parson?

  They reflect his desire for another benefice
• What does Mercutio's description of Queen Mab reveal about her character?

  She has a vindictive and punishing nature
• 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 anonDrums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,And being thus frighted swears a prayer or twoAnd sleeps again. (1.4.83–89)
• What does Mercutio say about the breaths of ladies?

  They are tainted with sweetmeats