O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with y...

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 forefinger of an alderman,

Drawn with a team of little atomies

Over 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 web;

Her collars, of the moonshine's wat'ry beams;

Her whip, of cricket's bone; the lash, of film;

Her wagoner, a small grey-coated gnat,

Not half so big as a round little worm

Pricked from the lazy finger of a maid;

Her chariot is an empty hazelnut,

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 curtsies 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.

Sometimes 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 tail

Tickling a parson's nose as 'a lies asleep,

Then dreams he of another benefice.

Sometimes 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.

This is she!

• Avoid letting the speech become a passive recitation of poetry; treat each image as an active, spontaneous joke or challenge directed at Romeo.
• Master the tonal shift in the middle; let the whimsical description of the hazelnut chariot gradually give way to a darker, more frantic delivery as the imagery turns to soldiers' throats and hags.
• Maintain a high physical and vocal agility, letting your movements reflect Mercutio's erratic, fast-paced mind without losing clarity of diction.

1. Whimsical Creation

• What shifts: The monologue opens with a playful, highly detailed introduction of a microscopic fairy queen.
• Playable action: To captivate Romeo's attention and mock his reliance on dreams with absurdly delicate imagery.
• Performance note: Keep the vocal tone light, crisp, and filled with theatrical wonder, emphasizing the tiny dimensions of Mab's world.

2. The Mirror of Vice

• What shifts: The imagery shifts from Mab's anatomy to the specific, self-serving dreams she gives to different professions.
• Playable action: To expose human nature as greedy, vain, and inherently flawed.
• Performance note: Adopt distinct vocal energies or quick characterizations for the lawyer, the parson, and the lady, keeping the pace brisk and satirical.

3. Descent into Chaos

• What shifts: The speech takes a dark, aggressive turn into nightmares, violence, and raw, physical anxieties.
• Playable action: To violently smash Romeo's romantic delusions by exposing the dirty reality beneath the fantasy.
• Performance note: Accelerate the verbal rhythm and increase the physical intensity, letting the speech feel like it is dangerously spinning out of control before being cut off.