In Act I, scene iv,
Mercutio delivers a dazzling speech
about the fairy Queen Mab, who rides through the night on her tiny
wagon bringing dreams to sleepers. One of the most noteworthy aspects
of Queen Mab’s ride is that the dreams she brings generally do not bring
out the best sides of the dreamers, but instead serve to confirm them
in whatever vices they are addicted to—for example, greed, violence,
or lust. Another important aspect of Mercutio’s description of Queen
Mab is that it is complete nonsense, albeit vivid and highly colorful.
Nobody believes in a fairy pulled about by “a small grey-coated
gnat” whipped with a cricket’s bone (I.iv.
65).
Finally, it is worth noting that the description of Mab and her
carriage goes to extravagant lengths to emphasize how tiny and insubstantial
she and her accoutrements are. Queen Mab and her carriage do not merely
symbolize the dreams of sleepers, they also symbolize the power
of waking fantasies, daydreams, and desires. Through the Queen Mab
imagery, Mercutio suggests that all desires and fantasies are as
nonsensical and fragile as Mab, and that they are basically corrupting.
This point of view contrasts starkly with that of
Romeo and
Juliet,
who see their love as real and ennobling.