Mercutio

Question 1

“prick love for pricking”

Answer 1

Makes bawdy jokes about love- Has a purely sexual view on love

Question 2

Queen Mab purpose?

Answer 2

Used by Shakespeare to hint at the themes of desire, fate and love as a force to be explored later in the play.
Adds to the hints all over the play that Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy is orchestrated. (This is a hint hidden in the seemingly useless speech of Mercutio)

Question 3

“drawn with a team of little atomi”

Answer 3

“Queen Mab” is small and unseen- REPRESENTING how the elusive unseen forces of love and fate drive the play

Question 4

Queen Mab is described as causing many effects such as blisters on ladies’ lips, soldiers dreaming of “cutting foreign throats” and lovers “dream of love”

Answer 4

Queen Mab is so small yet determines what larger humans feel/ dream and what happens to them. The idea Shakespeare explores here links to the idea that elusive external forces drive our desires like fate driving the lovers’ tragedy. By having Mercutio refer to love also in this speech, Shakespeare is hinting to his audience that forces of love and fate which can’t be seen will drive the play and have power over humans.

Question 5

“prick…

Answer 5

…love for pricking”

Question 6

“drawn with….

Answer 6

…a team of little atomi”

Question 7

Queen Mab’s effects…

Answer 7

Blisters on ladies’ lips
Lovers “dream of love”
Soldiers dream of “cutting foreign throats”