Sunday, November 3, 2013

Mercutio's Soliloquy

Act 1 scene 4 verse 57


Translation
    
     Queen Mab is a tiny fairy that rides around in a carriage made out of an empty hazelnut with spider's legs for wheel spokes, the cover are from the wings of grasshoppers. The carriage is driven by a grey-coated gnat and drawn by a team of Atomi (little creatures). Queen Mab spends her time galloping over the noses and lips of sleepers, filling their dreams with fantasies such as lovers dreaming of love, lawyers’ dreaming of winning lawsuits: like having good dreams. When she's in a bad mood, she plagues women who dreams of kisses have nasty blisters and she loves making young, virgin girls have naughty dreams: like having nightmares.
 

-An image of a Queen Mab, it is drawn based on the descriptions in the play.

-Source
http://hikarikage-cat.deviantart.com/art/Queen-Mab-179277050
http://www.shmoop.com/romeo-and-juliet/queen-mab-symbol.html


     This is Mercutio's famous soliloquy. The purpose of this soliloquy was basically to scare or annoy Romeo because Mercutio was fed up with Romeo's lovesick for Rosaline. He starts off by describing a small gentle fairy but then he changes it into a terrifying  fairy that gives nightmares. After Romeo says Peace, Mercutio states that dreams are for children with idle brains. In the movie Mercutio was high before giving this speech.

     I like this speech because it gives me a better understanding to what kind of  a character Mercutio is. I like how Mercutio starts out good but then it changes to something bad like his speech a fairy turns bad when angered but nice when it isn't.