In Romeo and Juliet, who speaks the Queen Mab speech?

Mercutio speaks the Queen Mab speech in Romeo and Juliet.

He delivers it in Act 1, Scene 4, while Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio are on their way to the Capulet feast. Romeo says he is uneasy about attending the party, and Mercutio responds with an elaborate account of Queen Mab, a tiny fairy who visits people in dreams.

The speech begins as playful fantasy but becomes increasingly intense and satirical. Mercutio describes how dreams reflect people’s desires, ambitions, and anxieties, suggesting that they are not reliable revelations. His language displays his wit and imagination, while also revealing a sharp skepticism about romantic idealism.

The speech is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Romeo because it occurs during Romeo’s storyline and concerns dreams. However, the text clearly assigns the extended speech to Mercutio. It is one of the play’s best-known passages and helps establish Mercutio as a verbally dazzling character before the action turns more violent.