MERCUTIO: 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 forefinger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Over men’s noses as they lie asleep;
Her wagon spokes made of long spinners’ legs,
The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers;
Her traces, of the smallest spider web;
Her collars, of the moonshine’s wat’ry beams;
Her whip, of cricket’s bone; the lash, of film;
Her wagoner, 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
could you give any tips sir?
thank you
January 16, 2013 at 10:01 pm
Hi Bruke!
This is a challenging but very interesting piece from the play. I like your choice.
1) I recommend that you first translate (in your won words, for your own benefit) the meaning of the words in the script – this will allow you to perform the piece with greater realism and conviction, because you’ll confidently understand what is meant by the words. Let me know if you want my help with that!
2) Let’s also look at that scene performed by other actors – from a film or recording of a shakespearian play. This will allow you to get an idea of how someone else handled the material
3) If possible I suggest you record yourself reading the lines, with some gaps in different places to aid your memorisation of the lines.. you can then listen to it to learn them as well as doing it by reading from the script.
4) All of shakespeare’s writing has such strong sound and rhythm that I encourage you to have fun by riding the iambic pentameter horse and exaggerating the sounds of some of the words – this will help you remember the lines, and will also bring the language to life for you.
Hope these ideas help.
Mr Waugh