Monday, February 10, 2020

Act I, scene iv


Read I.iv and consider the purpose of the Queen Mab speech. Why is it in Act I? Discuss and draft a claim with your group. Post the claim here.

54 comments:

  1. To me, despite his other traits, Mercutio actually seems to be very observant, seeing what others in the play might not have, but what we can see as an audience. He is implying Romeo’s strong love that we’ve seen before and forcing him to analyze it (L.iv.17-18).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree! Lines 14-16, Romeo says he can’t dance but Mercurio makes Romeo come to the conclusion he can not dance due to his powerful love.

      Delete
  2. Mercutio knows that Romeo is sad because of love and refers to him as a "lover" (I.iv. 17). He himself thinks of love as a mire that Romeo is stuck in (I.iv.41-42). These suggest to me that Mercutio doesn't think of himself as a lover, and thinks that Romeo is taking love and Rosaline's rejection way too seriously. I think this is why he goes on and on about Queen Mab: the connection of a fantasy fairy going around influencing peoples' dreams with love is aimed at making love seem less important, thus cheering Romeo up (which doesn't work).
    Also, will we ever find out what Romeo's dream was?

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. “Under love’s heavy burden”(I.iv.22). Romeo is still upset and lovesick and his friends are trying to help him get over this. Benvolio wants him to move on and see there is other people out there for him, but Mercutio was mocking him with his speech about the dream fairy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Mercutio seems to be more of a sarcastic character and loves to joke around especially when mocking Romeo with his speech as you mentioned.

      Delete
  5. I think that this speech is in Act I to show Mercutio's perspective on dreams. His description of Queen Mab seems so far-fetched and unrealistic(for example, "Her chariot is an empty hazelnut" I.i.v.), and I think this is because he wants to show Romeo that his dream should not bother him and stop him from enjoying the night. He tries to cheer Romeo up, and at the same time is sharing his opinion, which is that dreams aren't realistic at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I agree I think this is an attempt to make Romeo feel better because Romeo obsesses over little things to the extent that he can’t stop thinking about it. This shows Romeo is immature and slightly obsessive

      Delete
  6. I.iii. page 47 With Mercutio's whole monologue on dreams, he seems to be quite dissimilar to Romeo. Where Romeo is, as they say,a hopeless romantic, all long monologues and hyperbole, but Mercutio strikes me as more of a realist. I wonder where Shakespeare will take this contrast in their characters: how will they clash? How will they help to balance each other out? Will they ever change their views?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel like Romeo’s lovesickness contributes to his hopelessness. I’m sure Romeo will change his views after he meets Juliet - as the entire premise of him sulking in his room is because the girl he’s in love with doesn’t reciprocate the same feelings.

      Delete
    2. Yes and them being complete opposites and having totally different views on love itself is slightly ironic, but it’s what holds the story line together and what makes it so captivating.

      Delete
  7. I think Mercutio is trying to tell Romeo to move on. He describes dreams as "the children of an idle brain" (I.iii.98), or delusional. Everyone has dreams, but not everyone's dreams come true.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree! I think Romeo is currently immature, like how Pip was immature when he wanted to become a gentlemen. And mercutio is very observant.

      Delete
    2. Yes, but I also feel like Mercurio is almost anti love. I think this because along with what you said, he also teases Romeo about his love, showing that he either doesn’t care about love, or maybe even doesn’t like it.

      Delete
  8. Mercutio’s monologue seems to me to be showing how he views love, and he chalks it up to a fairy, who he appears(according to the language towards the end of the monologue) to view with anger or disdain. This shows to me that Mercutio doesn’t have a very high opinion of love and dreams, and he sees them as trivial and a “vain fantasy”

    ReplyDelete
  9. It is clear that Romeo has a belief in that fate is determined by another factor or what he calls, "Some consequence yet hanging in the stars"(1.iv.112-115). The combination of his belief in fate and his lovesick sadness lead to a further stage of Romeos sorrow; to think he will die soon.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I believe that Mercutio is trying to tell Romeo to let go of his hopeless. thought the story of the dream that is not posable. His love is a dream it can't ever become the truth.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Does Romeos dream have anything to do with his, and his families relationship to the Caplets?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mercutio calls dreams “as thin of substance as the air”, establishing his position on dreams- that they are insubstantial and should not be treated as things that have substance, or reality.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Mercutio is essentially telling Romeo that he's being overdramatic, and is trying to explain that to him by comparing his thoughts to Queen Mab. Queen Mab is a fantasy figure, implying that Romeo is being childish, unrealistic and even delusional.

      Delete
  13. Mercutio is sort of the voice of reason in this scene while Romeo seems to live in his own fantasy world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. Mercutio is definitely thinking more reasonably and during his Queen Mab speech, he explains what he thinks is the reality and how dreams create unrealistic expectations.

      Delete
    2. It’s like the question we talked about: listen to your mind or your heart? It seems that Romeo listens more to his heart, while Mercutio listens more to his brain (more logical, at least in this case).

      Delete
  14. Romeo is hopelessly in love, talks about being hit with Cupid’s arrow that he couldn’t fly with Cupid’s wings. I think he means he is so in love he can’t function

    ReplyDelete
  15. Mercutio is trying to help Romeo understand how hopeless his love is by creating a fictional scenario which exaggerates the absurdity of the situation while still being able to connect to Romeo’s situation

    ReplyDelete
  16. In l.iv.106, Mercutio says,” Which is thin of substance”. I think that this shows that Mercutio thinks of dreams as really shallow thoughts and that just thinking about them isn't anything. This leads me to think that his character is more about actually doing things than thinking about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought that too and that he doesn't find the point of a dream. He thinks that they are really nothing and don't mean much saying, "Which are the children of an idle brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy," (1.iv.104-105). He thinks that they are fantasies and don't have much behind them.

      Delete
  17. Lines 22 and 26: These show Romeo’s negative attitude toward love. He is saying how it is dangerous and harmful, and how it weighs him down. He clearly hasn’t had a good experience with it in the past, nor the present, with Rosaline. Is this just because of her or were his opinions formed before? What could’ve happened?

    ReplyDelete
  18. On line 17-18, Mercutio mentions Cupid to Romeo when talking about his desires. I think it’s very neat how he mentions that Romeo should use Cupid’s wings, and the character’s personify love as Cupid and refer to him often.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Romeo says that love is tender. I think what he means is the concept can be manipulated in many ways, either good or bad. He thinks about certain subjects outside of the box.

    ReplyDelete
  20. “The game was ne’er so fair and I am done” (L.iv. line 39). Is this Romeo talking about giving up on love?

    ReplyDelete
  21. In his last lines of act 4, Romeo talks about death... is he foreshadowing the end of the play?

    ReplyDelete
  22. I believe that long description of queen man was meant to be a bit of littiture humor but also an example to Romeo on how the imagination can be vast and drift into all different scenarios but don’t get wrapped in it because none of it is real. He used language like “fairies” “night” “wings of grasshoppers” “swears a prayer” to suggest that dreams can have lots of detail good and bad but don’t invest too much of yourself into them. I also think this is a subtle reference to Romoes love life. He’s warning Romeo not to hold onto this dream of being w/ Rosalie so tightly and to think logically not with ones imagination because imaginations are built off your preferences and can be easily shifted and twisted. While logic and fact can’t, and also In a way he’s subtly saying don’t get your hope up now that we’re going to see Rosalie at the masquared ball.

    ReplyDelete
  23. And we mean well in going to this masque,
    But ‘tis no wit to go.
    Romeo, I.iv.50-51

    Is Romeo nervous about the party, or is he just so sad about Rosaline that he doesn’t want to do anything?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is possible that Romeo is nervous because they (he and benvolio) claimed not to be montagues, but capulets. They know that they are imposters at the masquerade, so they don’t want to be caught.

      Delete
  24. 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
    Act 1 scene 4 lines 57-60
    This is the beginning to mercutio monologue, in the first part he’s talking about the queen mab but then he seems to spiral off in a very dark way. What does this show about mercutios personality?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Mercutio’s speech is trying to reassure Romeo while also subtly pointing out his naivety. Especially in line 104, Mercutio says dreams are “the children of an idle brain” as a way to encourage Romeo to move on.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Mercutio’s Queen mab speech focuses on how dreams are only part of the imagination and not part of reality. As can be seen when Mercutio points out that, “ dreamers often lie” (L iv. 56)
    Showing how dreams are clearly disregarded in Mercutios view.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I.iv.15 Romeo describes himself as having a soul of lead right after comparing himself to Mercutio, whom he describes as having shoes with nimble soles. Romeo compares these things to express how he can’t let go of Rosaline, and compares gods emotions to Mercutio who is much more positive about Romeo finding new love. Romeo says that his soul can’t “dance” like Mercutio’s shoes because of the lead ball of love in his heart.

    ReplyDelete
  28. in line 25 Romeo calls love "too rough, Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn". I wonder if romeo actually likes being in love, because it seems in these lines that romeo actually finds love to be very painful. Does he not want to be in love, or is it something that drives him?

    ReplyDelete
  29. In this line: “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars...By some vile forfeit of untimely death. But he that hath the steerage of my course, Direct my sail.” (I.iv.108-114) I think the foreshadowing is so funny because it’s such a small part of the lengthy passage that it’s almost unnoticeable, but I like how Romeo is bringing up the fact that going into the dinner will not bring him good luck in his life, but no matter what comes his way, Romeo is seemingly fine to let whatever is to come to be as it may, which is surprising given his past obsessions over his feelings and over the future happiness in his life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, it seems like Romeo is a 'go with the flow' type of guy, but I think if it comes down to it, I think he'll be indecisive and will make a wrong decision, and regret it.

      Delete
  30. it seems that Mercutio is a foil of Romeo when it comes to love. Every time Romeo says something dramatic and sorrowful about love, Mercutio turns his words into either a bawdy joke or a carefree statement.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was also thinking about that and I think Shakespeare using Mercutio as a foil really put emphasis on Romeos relationship with love and his own emotions. I think another example of Shakespeare using foils is with nurse and Lady Capulet when nurse jokes around with Juliet right after her mother gives a very formal monologue. I wonder if Shakespeare uses this literary device often?

      Delete
  31. This is more of an observation, but I find it interesting: in I.iv. Lines 27-30, Mercutio basically gives us his answer for the “is revenge satisfying?” question that we studied. While Romeo seems dramatic and weighed down by his idea of love being rough and thorny (painful), Mercutio advises Romeo to take action and basically fight against love, wounding love as it had wounded him. His vision is kind of like “an eye for an eye”—he literally says “a visor for a visor.” In this, perhaps Mercutio is a bit like Magwitch, in the way that he immediately jumps to revenge for justice against whatever is causing pain/suffering.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with what has already been said, but I also noticed that directly after in I.iv. 33-34 Benvolio seems to give his own opinion on revenge, though he never says whether it is satisfying or not his lines mean something about equivalent to "an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind" in response to Mercutio's "eye for an eye" mindset, and so ends up contrasting Mercutio and Benvolio and helps to understand them better. (This is done despite Meructio mostly being used as a foil for Romeo throughout the rest of the scene.)

      Delete
  32. I iV (25-26) when Romeo says " Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like a thorn" Romeo shows his insight on love, and shows that its not all happiness, and good but it can be hard, and hurt sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Mercutio says that dreams are, "the children of an idle brain" (I.iv.104). This shows that he does not really believe in dreams and love, thinking that they're pointless and foolish.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Where Romeo says, “Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace. Thou talk’st of nothing.” (I.iv.4), is kind of ironic in a way as Romeo has been rambling a lot since the beginning of the play. Also, Mercutio clearly is the type of person with very strong feelings and is going to voice them.

    ReplyDelete
  35. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  36. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  37. During Mercutio's monologue, I was just very confused to what point he was trying to make, and the language threw me off even more.

    ReplyDelete
  38. In the end of scene 4 Romeo mentions consequences hanging in the stars and I just thought that he mentioned this be cause Romeo and Juliet are sometimes refered too as star crossed lovers. I was also wondering if he’s foreshadowing his own death in these parts?

    ReplyDelete