Queen Mab - wikipedia Queen Mab For other uses, see Queen Mab ( disambiguation ). Queen Mab, illustration by Arthur Rackham ( 1906 ) Queen Mab is a fairy referred to in William Shakespeare 's play Romeo and Juliet, where `` she is the fairies ' midwife. '' In the play, she is a symbol for freedom and also becomes Romeo 's psyche after he realizes that he is also a floating spirit. Later, she appears in other poetry and literature, and in various guises in drama and cinema. In the play, her activity is described in a famous speech by Mercutio written originally in prose and often adapted into iambic pentameter, in which she is described as a miniature creature who performs midnight pranks upon sleepers. Being driven by a team of atomies, she rides her chariot over their noses and `` delivers the fancies of sleeping men. '' She is also described as a midwife to help sleepers `` give birth '' to their dreams. She may be a figure borrowed from folklore, and though she is often associated with the Irish Medb in popular culture, and has been suggested by historian Thomas Keightley to be from Habundia, a more likely origin for her name would be from Mabel and the Middle English derivative `` Mabily '' ( as used by Chaucer ) all from the Latin amabilis ( `` lovable '' ). Contents 1 Mercutio 's speech ( in the adapted prose version ) 2 In other literature 3 Film and television 4 Music 5 References Mercutio 's speech ( in the adapted prose version ) `` 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 lies 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 wat'ry beams, Her whip of cricket 's bone ; the lash of film ; Her waggoner 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 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 plaits 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 -- '' -- Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Act I, scene IV In other literature After her literary debut ( as far as we can tell by examining the surviving literature ) in Romeo and Juliet, she appears in works of seventeenth - century poetry, notably Ben Jonson 's `` The Entertainment at Althorp '' and Michael Drayton 's `` Nymphidia ''. In Poole 's work Parnassus, Mab is described as the Queen of the Fairies and consort to Oberon, Emperor of the Fairies. `` Queen Mab '' is a 1750 pantomime by actor Henry Woodward. Queen Mab : A Philosophical Poem ( 1813 ) is the title of the first large poetic work written by the famous English Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley ( 1792 -- 1822 ). Herman Melville 's epic American novel Moby Dick ( 1851 ) includes a chapter called `` Queen Mab ''. The 31st chapter of Melville 's work is entitled such because it describes a dream by Captain Ahab 's second mate, Stubb. In J.M. Barrie 's The Little White Bird ( 1902 ) Queen Mab lives in Kensington Gardens and grants Peter Pan -- who has learned he is a boy, and thus can no longer fly -- his wish to fly again. American philosopher George Santayana wrote a short piece entitled `` Queen Mab '' which appeared in his 1922 book Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies. This particular soliloquy considers English literature as an indirect form of self - expression in which the English writer `` will dream of what Queen Mab makes other people dream '' rather than revealing him or herself. In Jim Butcher 's The Dresden Files books, Queen Mab of The Winter Court ( also known as ' The Queen of Air and Darkness ' ) is an important recurring character - with mysterious motives. Ruler of the Unseelie Sidhe, Mab lives in a dark castle of ice located in the fey worlds of The Nevernever and is generally considered to be incredibly cruel, cold, and a maker of unbreakable pacts. Queen Mab is the queen of the Unseelie Court in Julie Kagawa 's The Iron Fey series. Queen Mab is one of the three ancient Fae queens, sister to Maeve and Mora, in Sarah J. Maas 's Throne of Glass series. Queen Mab is one of the primary villains in the late story arcs of the comic book series Hellboy. In Stephen and Owen King 's book `` Sleeping Beauties '' under the alias Evie Black, the main antagonist of the book suggests she is the one being addressed in the Queen Mab speech by Mercutio in `` Romeo and Juliet ''. In Andrzej Sapkowski 's short story Złote popołudnie ( The Golden Afternoon ) which is postmodern retelling of Alice 's Adventures in Wonderland the Queen of Hearts is revealed to be really Queen Mab. Film and television In the first episode of season four of HBO 's original series True Blood, Queen Mab ( portrayed by Rebecca Wisocky ) is the Queen of Faerie who centuries ago ordered the fae to retreat to the Plane of Faerie in the wake of vampire aggression. Under her orders, humans with fae blood ( including Sookie Stackhouse ) are being drawn into Faerie as well. When Sookie rebels against her and escapes back to the mortal realm, Queen Mab seals the Faerie portals for good, trapping the half - fae with her and a handful of true fae in Bon Temps. Although not connected with him in the original source material, Queen Mab has been featured in media series featuring Merlin. She is portrayed by Miranda Richardson in the 1998 TV miniseries Merlin, serving as prominent antagonist to the title character ; she is the dark twin to the Lady of the Lake. In an episode of Hercules : The Legendary Journeys from the same year, she is an evil enchantress who has corrupted Arthur ; Merlin sends the pair back in time to learn a lesson in humility from Hercules. The 2008 TV series Merlin features Queen Mab as a character in an episode of the show 's fifth season, which portrays her as a diminutive green fairy. Music The composer Hector Berlioz wrote a spectacular `` Queen Mab '' scherzo in his Romeo et Juliette symphony ( 1839 ). Hugh Macdonald describes this piece as `` Berlioz 's supreme exercise in light orchestral texture, a brilliant, gossamer fabric, prestissimo and pianissimo almost without pause... The pace and fascination of the movement are irresistible ; it is some of the most ethereally brilliant music ever penned. '' The song by the British rock band Queen `` The Fairy Feller 's Master - Stroke '', based on a painting by Richard Dadd and included in the album Queen II, mentions Queen Mab and many other characters such as Oberon and Titania. Songwriter Becca Stevens set the first half of the text to music on her 2017 album Regina. References Jump up ^ The Fairy Mythology : Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries : Volume Two Thomas Keightley, Whittaker, Treacher and co., 1833, page. 135 Jump up ^ Words And Names, Ernest Weekley, Ayer Publishing, 1932, ISBN 0 - 8369 - 5918 - 3, ISBN 978 - 0 - 8369 - 5918 - 5. p. 87 Jump up ^ A dictionary of first names Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges, Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0 - 19 - 861060 - 2, ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 861060 - 1 Jump up ^ Rose, Carol ( 1996 ). `` M ''. Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns and Goblins ( Paperback ). Norton. p. 207. ISBN 0 - 393 - 31792 - 7. Jump up ^ A General Biographical Dictionary by John Gorton ( London ; Whittaker and Co. ; 1847 ) vol. III page 507, retrieved from Google Books 5 February 2014 Jump up ^ ' Drury Lane Theatre ' page of the Folger Shakespeare Library on - line exhibition on David Garrick, retrieved from `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014. 5 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` Complete text of poem ''. Bartleby.com. Retrieved 29 August 2011. Jump up ^ Santayana, George ( 1922 ). Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies. New York : Charles Scribner 's Sons, 145. Jump up ^ Woman, The ( 15 December 2010 ). `` Dane DeHaan and Rebecca Wisocky Joining True Blood 's Season Four Horror Movie, DVD, & Book Reviews, News, Interviews at Dread Central ''. Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 29 August 2011. Jump up ^ Macdonald, H. ( 1969, p51 ) Berlioz Orchestral Music. London, BBC. William Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet Characters Romeo Juliet Mercutio Tybalt Benvolio Friar Laurence Nurse Paris Rosaline Queen Mab Atomy Sources The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet Pyramus and Thisbe Palace of Pleasure Troilus and Criseyde Ballets Romeo and Juliet ( 1938, Prokofiev ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1962, Cranko ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1965, MacMillan ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1977, Nureyev ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1965, Lavery ) Radio and Juliet ( 2005 ) Romeo + Juliet ( 2007, Martins ) Romeo and Juliet ( 2008, Pastor ) Operas Romeo und Julie ( 1776, Benda ) Giulietta e Romeo ( 1796, Zingarelli ) Giulietta e Romeo ( 1825, Vaccai ) I Capuleti ei Montecchi ( 1830, Bellini ) Gloria ( 1874, Cilea ) Roméo et Juliette ( 1867, Gounod ) A Village Romeo and Juliet ( 1907, Delius ) Romeo und Julia ( 1940, Sutermeister ) Musicals The Belle of Mayfair ( 1906 ) West Side Story ( 1957 ) Once on This Island ( 1990 ) Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour ( 2001 ) Giulietta e Romeo ( 2007 ) Classical Beethoven 's String Quartet No. 1 ( c. 1800 ) Roméo et Juliette ( 1839, Berlioz ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1870, Tchaikovsky ) On screen 1900 1908 1916 Metro Pictures 1916 Fox 1936 1953 1954 1955 1964 1968 1978 ( TV ) 1992 ( TV ) 2006 2007 2013 Film adaptations English Beneath the 12 - Mile Reef ( 1953 ) Romanoff and Juliet ( 1961 ) West Side Story ( 1961 ) Gonks Go Beat ( 1965 ) Lonesome Cowboys ( 1968 ) Romie - 0 and Julie - 8 ( TV ; 1979 ) The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet ( 1982 ) Valley Girl ( 1983 ) Bullies ( 1986 ) China Girl ( 1987 ) Romeo. Juliet ( 1990 ) Tromeo and Juliet ( 1996 ) Love Is All There Is ( 1996 ) Rose by Any Other Name... ( 1997 ) The Lion King II : Simba 's Pride ( 1998 ) Shakespeare in Love ( 1998 ) The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns ( 1999 ) Romeo Must Die ( 2000 ) Brooklyn Babylon ( 2001 ) Pizza My Heart ( TV ; 2005 ) West Bank Story ( 2005 ) Life and Lyrics ( 2006 ) Romeo & Juliet : Sealed with a Kiss ( 2006 ) Rome & Jewel ( 2006 ) David & Fatima ( 2008 ) The Cross Road ( 2008 ) Vicious Circle ( 2008 ) Gnomeo & Juliet ( 2011 ) Private Romeo ( 2011 ) Warm Bodies ( 2013 ) Make Your Move ( 2013 ) Romeo & Juliet ( 2013 ) Hindi Ek Duuje Ke Liye ( 1981 ) Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak ( 1988 ) Saudagar ( 1991 ) Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein ( 2002 ) Bollywood Queen ( 2002 ) Ishaqzaade ( 2012 ) Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram - Leela ( 2013 ) Issaq ( 2013 ) Telugu Maro Charitra ( 1978 ) Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi ( 1996 ) Kalisundam Raa ( 2000 ) Maro Charitra ( 2010 ) Spanish Romeo and Juliet ( 1940 ) Los Tarantos ( 1963 ) 30 : e november ( Swedish / Spanish 1995 ) Amar te duele ( 2002 ) Italian Fury of Johnny Kid ( 1967 ) Ma che musica maestro ( 1971 ) Portuguese Mônica e Cebolinha : No Mundo de Romeu e Julieta ( 1979 ) O Casamento de Romeu e Julieta ( 2005 ) Other Ambikapathy ( Tamil 1937 ) Les amants de Vérone ( French 1949 ) Romeo, Juliet and Darkness ( Czech 1960 ) The Phantom Lover ( Mandarin 1995 ) Chicken Rice War ( Cantonese / English 2000 ) Ondagona Baa ( Kannada 2003 ) Mamay ( Ukrainian 2003 ) The District ! ( Hungarian 2004 ) In Fair Palestine : A Story of Romeo and Juliet ( 2006 ) The Bubble ( Hebrew / Arabic 2006 ) Priyatama ( Marathi 2014 ) Arshinagar ( Bengali 2015 ) Eeda ( Malayalam 2017 ) The Sea Prince and the Fire Child ( Japanese 1981 ) TV series Sons and Daughters ( 1982 ) Family and Friends ( 1990 ) Villa Quintana ( 1995 ) Yo amo a Paquita Gallego ( 1998 ) Skin ( 2003 ) A Touch Away ( 2006 ) Dangerous ( 2007 ) Romeo × Juliet ( 2007 ) Romeo y Julieta ( 2007 ) Saints & Sinners ( 2007 ) Harina de otro costal ( 2010 ) Villa Quintana ( 2013 ) Westside ( 2013 pilot ) Star - Crossed ( 2014 ) Still Star - Crossed ( 2017 ) Plays Romanoff and Juliet ( 1956 ) Romeo and Juliet ( 2013 ) Songs Lan và Điệp ( 1930s ) `` Montagues and Capulets '' ( 1935 ) `` Fever '' ( 1956 ) Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet ( 1968 ) `` ( Do n't Fear ) The Reaper '' ( 1976 ) `` Angelo '' ( 1978 ) `` Romeo and Juliet '' ( 1978 ) `` Romeo and Juliet '' ( 1981 ) `` Cherish '' ( 1989 ) `` Amor Prohibido '' ( 1994 ) `` Kissing You '' ( 1996 ) `` Exit Music '' ( 1997 ) `` Starcrossed '' ( 2004 ) `` Peut - être toi '' ( 2006 ) `` Mademoiselle Juliette '' ( 2007 ) `` Love Story '' ( 2008 ) `` Love Me Again '' `` Laal Ishq '' `` Mor Bani Thanghat Kare '' `` Nagada Sang Dhol '' `` Ram Chahe Leela '' ( 2013 ) Albums Romeo and Juliet ( 1968 ) Romeo + Juliet ( 1996 ) Romeo & Julia ( 2006 ) Tragic Lovers ( 2008 ) Literature Les Chouans The Wandering Jew ( 1844 ) The Stolen Dormouse ( 1941 ) The Faraway Lurs ( 1963 ) Romiette and Julio ( 2001 ) New Moon ( 2006 ) Warm Bodies ( 2010 ) Art Romeo and Juliet : the Tomb Scene ( 1790 ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1978 ) Phrases `` Star - crossed '' `` A rose by any other name would smell as sweet '' Story within a story Nicholas Nickleby 1912 film 1947 film 1980 play 2001 film 2002 film The Picture of Dorian Gray 1910 film 1913 film 1915 film 1916 film 1917 film 1918 film 1945 film 1976 TV special 2009 film Harlequinade W Juliet `` Nothing Broken but My Heart '' Panic Button Bare : A Pop Opera `` '' Into the Light '' Bolji život The Sky Is Everywhere Pay as You Exit The White Mercedes She Died a Lady `` Moonshine River '' Rendez - vous Fame `` I Am Unicorn '' The Frog Prince Molly Smart Girls Get What They Want Tumbleweeds `` The Thief of Baghead '' The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke Prince Charming Km. 0 Phileine Says Sorry Hamateur Night `` Say You 'll Be Mine '' Into the Gauntlet Wandering Son K - On ! Foreign stories Adam Khan and Durkhanai Tum Teav Yusuf Khan and Sherbano Solomon & Gaenor Butterfly Lovers Hani and Sheh Mureed Lục Vân Tiên film Teav Aek Layla and Majnun Lovers of Teruel film Lord Saltoun and Auchanachie Ishaqzaade Other Such Tweet Sorrow Romeo and Juliet effect After Juliet `` Upper West Side Story '' ( 2012 ) Millennium Dome Show Inge Sylten and Heinz Drosihn Boys Do n't Cry My Wedding and Other Secrets Donkey in Lahore Upside Down Letters to Juliet Sherlock Gnomes Book : Romeo and Juliet Fairies Related articles Changeling Classifications of fairies Fairy fort Fairy godmother Fairy - locks Fairy path Fairy riding Fairy ring Fairy tale Hungry grass Royalty in folklore Áine Alberich Arawn Beira Bodb Derg Brigid Clíodhna The Dagda Donn Dullahan Fairy Queen Finvarra Gwyn ap Nudd Gwythyr ap Greidawl Gyre - Carling / Nicnevin Manannán mac Lir Queen of Elphame Saci - pererê Royalty in literature Belphoebe Caelia Elegast Erlking Gloriana Lurline Mab Oberon Titania Fairylands in folklore Alfheim / Elphame Annwn Arcadia ( utopia ) Avalon, Afallach, and Emain Ablach Brú na Bóinne Cnoc Meadha Cnoc na Teamhrach Fortunate Isles Hy Brasil Inis Vitrin Mag Mell Niðavellir Otherworld Rathcroghan Seelie Court Svartálfar and Svartálfaheimr Tír na nÓg Unseelie Court Fairies in culture The Blue Fairy Cottingley Fairies Faerieworlds Faerie faith Faery Wicca Fairy painting The Faerie Queene The Fairly OddParents Rainbow Magic Tinker Bell Fairies in folklore Northern Europe Alp Luachra Anjana Aos Sidhe Arkan Sonney Asrai Banshee Barghest Bean nighe Billy Blind Biróg Bloody Bones Bluecap Bodach Boggart Bogle Brag Brownie Bucca Buggane Bugul Noz Caoineag Cat sìth Cù Sìth Ceffyl Dŵr Clurichaun Coblynau Cyhyraeth Drow Duende Duergar Dullahan Dwarf Each - uisge Elf Enchanted Moura Fear dearg Fear gorta Fenodyree Finfolk Fuath Gancanagh Ghillie Dhu Glaistig Glashtyn Gnome Goblin Green Man Gremlin Grindylow Gwyllion Gwyn ap Nudd Habetrot Haltija The Hedley Kow Heinzelmännchen Hob Hobgoblin Hödekin Hulder Iannic - ann - ôd Imp Jack - o ' - lantern Jack o ' the bowl Jenny Greenteeth Joan the Wad Joint - eater Kabouter Kelpie Kilmoulis Klabautermann Knocker Knucker Kobold Korrigan Leanan sídhe Leprechaun Lorelei Lubber fiend Ly Erg Mare Melusine Mermaid Merrow Mooinjer veggey Morgen Nain Rouge Näkki Nicnevin Nix Ogre Peg Powler Pixie Púca / Pwca Puck Radande Redcap Selkie Seonaidh Shellycoat Sluagh Spriggan Sprite / Water sprite Sylph Tomte Tooth fairy Troll Tuatha Dé Danann Tylwyth Teg Undine Water horse Wight Will - o ' - the - wisp Wirry - cow Yan - gant - y - tan Xana Fairy - like beings in folklore Africa Abatwa Asanbosam Aziza Bultungin Jengu Kishi Mami Wata Obayifo Rompo Tikoloshe Yumboes Oceania Bunyip Manaia Mimis Muldjewangk Patupaiarehe Taniwha Tipua Wandjina Yara - ma - yha - who Yowie Americas Alux Chaneque Curupira Encantado Ishigaq Jogah Menehune Nawao Nimerigar Nûñnë'hï Pukwudgie Saci Squonk Asia Apsara Diwata Kappa Kijimuna Kitsune Kodama Koro - pok - guru Mogwai Orang bunian Puteri Peri Bake - danuki Tengu Tennin Yaksha Yakshini Yōkai Yōsei Europe Greek Dryad Hamadryad Kallikantzaros Lampad Maenad Naiad Nereid Nymph Oceanid Pan Potamides Satyr Silenus Romanic Căpcăun Faun Iele Lares Di Penates Sânziană Spiriduș Squasc Vâlvă Vântoase Zână Zmeu Slavic Bagiennik & Bannik Berehynia Domovoi Karzełek Kikimora Likho Polevik Psotnik Rusalka Vila Vodyanoy Celtic Tuatha Dé Danann Texts Daemonologie ( 1597 ) Treatises on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants ( 1751 ) Goethe 's Faust ( 1832 ) See also Portal List of beings referred to as fairies Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Queen_Mab&oldid=843170662 '' Categories : Fictional fairies and sprites Characters in Romeo and Juliet Fairy royalty Fictional queens Female Shakespearean characters Fictional midwives Hidden categories : EngvarB from September 2017 Use dmy dates from September 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Italiano Norsk Simple English Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 27 May 2018, at 10 : 41. 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Question: in romeo and juliet who is queen mab
Answer: the fairies' midwife