Original: O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
Modern: Oh, I see Queen Mab has visited you.

Original: She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
Modern: She’s the fairy who delivers dreams, and she appears

Original: In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
Modern: In a form no bigger than a tiny jewel

Original: On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Modern: On a city official’s index finger,

Original: Drawn with a team of little atomies
Modern: Pulled by a team of tiny creatures

Original: Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep;
Modern: Across men’s noses while they sleep;

Original: Her wagon-spokes made of long spiders’ legs,
Modern: Her wagon wheels are made from long spider legs,

Original: The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,
Modern: The top is made from grasshopper wings,

Original: The traces of the smallest spider’s web,
Modern: The harness straps are the thinnest spider webs,

Original: The collars of the moonshine’s watery beams,
Modern: The horse collars are made of pale moonbeams,

Original: Her whip of cricket’s bone, the lash of film,
Modern: Her whip is a cricket’s bone with a cobweb for the strap,

Original: Her wagoner a small grey-coated gnat,
Modern: Her driver is a tiny gray gnat,

Original: Not so big as a round little worm
Modern: No bigger than a small round worm

Original: Prick’d from the lazy finger of a maid;
Modern: Picked from a young woman’s finger;

Original: Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut
Modern: Her carriage is an empty hazelnut shell

Original: Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,
Modern: Carved by a squirrel carpenter or an old beetle,

Original: Time out o’ mind the fairies’ coachmakers.
Modern: Who have been the fairies’ carriage makers since ancient times.

Original: And in this state she gallops night by night
Modern: And in this tiny chariot she races every night

Original: Through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love;
Modern: Through lovers’ minds, making them dream of romance;

Original: O’er courtiers’ knees, that dream on court’sies straight,
Modern: Over nobles’ knees, who then dream of fancy bowing,

Original: O’er lawyers’ fingers, who straight dream on fees,
Modern: Over lawyers’ fingers, who immediately dream of money,

Original: O’er ladies’ lips, who straight on kisses dream,
Modern: Over ladies’ lips, who then dream of kisses,

Original: Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues,
Modern: Which angry Mab often punishes with cold sores,

Original: Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are:
Modern: Because their breath smells of candy:

Original: Sometime she gallops o’er a courtier’s nose,
Modern: Sometimes she races over a courtier’s nose,

Original: And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;
Modern: And then he dreams of sniffing out a profitable request;

Original: And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig’s tail
Modern: And sometimes she comes with a pig’s tail

Original: Tickling a parson’s nose as a’ lies asleep,
Modern: Tickling a preacher’s nose as he sleeps,

Original: Then dreams, he of another benefice:
Modern: Then he dreams of getting another church position:

Original: Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck,
Modern: Sometimes she drives over a soldier’s neck,

Original: And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Modern: And then he dreams of killing foreign enemies,

Original: Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,
Modern: Of breaking through walls, ambushes, Spanish swords,

Original: Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon
Modern: Of drinking toasts thirty feet deep; and then suddenly

Original: Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,
Modern: Drums sound in his ear, which startles him awake,

Original: And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two
Modern: And being so frightened, he quickly says a prayer or two

Original: And sleeps again. This is that very Mab
Modern: And falls back asleep. This is the same Mab

Original: That plats the manes of horses in the night,
Modern: Who braids horses’ manes during the night,

Original: And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,
Modern: And hardens tangled knots in dirty, messy hair,

Original: Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes:
Modern: Which, once combed out, brings bad luck:

Original: This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
Modern: This is the witch who, when young women lie on their backs,

Original: That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Modern: Presses down on them and teaches them how to bear weight,

Original: Making them women of good carriage:
Modern: Teaching them to carry themselves like proper women:

Original: This is she—
Modern: This is her—

Romeo and Juliet — Act I, Scene iv

In this scene, Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, and a group of their companions are gathered together, masked and torchlit, preparing to gate-crash the Capulet feast. Romeo is in a melancholy mood, still brooding over his unrequited love for Rosaline, and he is reluctant to dance at the party. He suggests that someone else deliver a prologue to announce their arrival, but Mercutio dismisses the need for such formalities, urging the group to simply enter and enjoy themselves. Romeo expresses that he feels too heavy-hearted to dance, and Mercutio counters with witty wordplay, trying to lift Romeo’s spirits and encourage him to be merry.

The scene shifts in tone when Romeo mentions that he has had a troubling dream, prompting Mercutio to launch into his famous and elaborate “Queen Mab” speech, in which he describes the tiny fairy queen who rides through the night delivering dreams to sleeping mortals — visions of love to lovers, of glory to soldiers, and of wealth to lawyers. Mercutio’s speech grows increasingly frantic before Romeo interrupts him, bringing him back to the present moment. After Mercutio composes himself, the group prepares to move onward to the Capulet party. Before they depart, Romeo expresses a dark premonition that the night’s events will set in motion something fateful that will end in his own untimely death, though he resigns himself to whatever fortune has in store.

“Romeo and Juliet” tells the story of two young lovers from feuding families in Verona. Romeo Montague attends a Capulet feast in disguise, where he meets and instantly falls in love with Juliet Capulet. They meet secretly that night on her balcony and decide to marry the next day. Friar Lawrence agrees to perform the ceremony, hoping their union might end the family feud.

After the secret wedding, Romeo encounters Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, who challenges him to a duel. When Romeo refuses to fight, his friend Mercutio accepts the challenge and is killed by Tybalt. In revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished from Verona by Prince Escalus. Meanwhile, Juliet’s parents, unaware of her secret marriage, arrange for her to wed Count Paris.

Desperate to avoid this second marriage, Juliet seeks help from Friar Lawrence, who gives her a potion that will make her appear dead. The plan is for Romeo to return and take her away when she awakens in the Capulet tomb. However, Romeo never receives the friar’s message explaining the scheme. Believing Juliet truly dead, he purchases poison and drinks it beside her tomb.

Juliet awakens to find Romeo’s lifeless body and, in despair, kills herself with his dagger. The tragic deaths of their children finally reconcile the Montague and Capulet families, who vow to end their ancient hatred. Prince Escalus concludes that all are punished by this sorrowful outcome of the families’ bitter feud.