Project 3

Shakespeare monologue
Mercutio's Queen Mab Speech

Shakespeare’s Queen Mab speech is perhaps one of the most famous speeches he ever wrote. The speech is from Romeo and Juliet. In the setting of the show the speech is used by Mercutio in order to point out Romeo’s visions of love and how it can be so misleading. Within the show he is trying to get Romeo to go to the Capulet feast. He uses the example of Queen Mab in order to establish that Romeo’s longing for Rosaline is pointless. There is also a deeper meaning found within the speech. The speech highlights Mercutio’s view that people’s dreams are directly related to who they are. He believes lovers will dream of love and soldiers will dream of battle. He is blatantly honest. There is also a sense of sexually to the piece. Mercutio is a “hot blooded” character. He acts on emotion and is quite sexual. His age and raging hormones add to his hot-blooded nature. He is a man of emotion. Ironically, he is as passionate about love as Romeo.
This speech is a journey. There are a ton of different emotions within the scene. My process for rehearsing this scene began with a script analysis. I tried to find the journey in which the character was taking. I discovered that the beginning of the speech is filled with irony and sexual undertones. Mercutio’s sexual nature is highlighted in the text. He has the ability to make anything become sexual. He describes the chariot in which Queen Mab arrives to bring dreams to the sleeping people. The speech takes a dramatic turn when he starts describing how Queen Mab causes a soldier to dream about “cutting foreign throats.” Mercutio becomes emotionally wrapped up in the words he is speaking. It seems as though he is an uncontrollable train that would have to crash if it were to stop. Ultimately, this is a speech is part of everyday guy talk. I imagined this speech to be what the crazy dude in gym class would say in the locker room.
I did not find it difficult to understand the heightened verse of the speech. The iambic rhythm of the piece allowed for quick memorization. I focused on finding the conversational quality and tone of the piece. It was important to me to make it seem like I was teasing Romeo. Mercutio is the alpha male between his groups of friends and this allows him to be able to have fun with his boys.
Despite how much of an alpha male Mercutio may be, there is a side of vulnerability within him. As the speech carries on, Mercutio gets wrapped up in the emotion of the piece. It seems as if he is remembering all of the wrongs love has done to him. He is blaming Queen Mab on this. This can be considered the dramatic climax of the piece. I love the fact that Mercutio shows an incredible amount of passion for anything he is saying. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he lets everything he is feeling out by getting caught up in emotion.