Paul Sugarman (bottom right) has appeared with Actors Shakespeare Company at NJCU in Passion’s Slave, Henry the Fifth, The Three Musketeers, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, King John, and Hamlet and will be in the upcoming productions of Logomaniacs and The Tempest. He is founder of the Instant Shakespeare Company which is finishing up its eleventh year of doing annual readings of all of Shakespeare’s plays. To find out more about the Instant Shakespeare Company email rawshakespeare@yahoo.com. He also publishes pocket edition of the First Folio and Quarto settings of Shakespeare’s plays.
At ASC we take pride in working from the earliest published texts of Shakespeare because there are great clues for performance there that modern editing can take away. Some of Shakespeare’s plays were published during his lifetime. These were published in Quarto editions so named because they took the standard printing sheet of the day and folded it into quarters (Approximately 4 ¾” x 6”). This was a standard size for popular books, more serious books were published in Folio which was the size of a sheet unfolded (Approximately 9 ½” x 12”). No one thought plays were worth the seriousness of publication in Folio until Ben Jonson took it upon himself to publish his own plays in that format in 1616. Shakespeare’s plays were not published in Folio until 1623 by members of his acting company in a book titled “Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories and Tragedies” known to us now as the First Folio. For 18 of the plays this is the only source we have and those plays would have been lost if not for this publication including The Tempest, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth.
When you first look at these original editions it can be disconcerting. To start with, ‘s’ looks like ‘f’ and the letter ‘u’ is interchanged with ‘v’, the letter ‘i’ with ‘j’. Also this was one hundred years before the first dictionary so the spelling can often be bizarre. One of the first things you have to realize is that these publications were trying to present how the play sounded on the page. In Shakespeare’s time most of the population did not read so that the spoken word was of far greater prominence and these publications were meant to capture the sounds of the plays.
Shakespeare’s Quartos divide into 2 categories: the “Bad” and “Good”. The “Bad” Quartos were pirate editions, unauthorized publications that are thought to have been set from players recollections of a play they had done or what had been transcribed by audience members and published by a printer out to make a quick buck. These Quartos often have more extensive and descriptive stage directions to explain what’s going on onstage. “Good” Quartos are thought to have been put out by Shakespeare’s acting company often to counter a “Bad” Quarto or as another source of income. There is no direct evidence that Shakespeare was very involved in the printing of Quartos.
One of the interesting things to look at between Quarto and First Folio texts is that there are sometimes substantive differences. In the First (Bad) Quarto of Romeo & Juliet, Mercutio’s Queen Mab speech is set as verse, while in the Second (Good) Quarto and the First Folio set all but the last four lines as prose. Some of the Quartos were the direct source for the Folio and some of the plays were rewritten by the time they made it to the Folio.
So now you can have several texts that may contradict each other, but as actors we know that contradictions are really our friends. If a character doesn’t have contradictions they’re boring. The contrasts that they offer are the spice of drama. So if you want to look at the texts you can try the variations out in rehearsal and see which works best for you.
Below are text versions and scans of the original pages of these 3 variations on the Queen Mab speech.
Quarto 1 1597
Mer: Ah then I see Queene Mab hath bin with you.
Ben: Queene Mab whats she?
She is the Fairies Midwife and doth come
In shape no bigger than an Aggat stone
On the forefinger of a Burgomaster,
Drawne with a teeme of little Atomi,
A thwart mens noses when they lie a sleepe.
Her waggon spokes are made of spinners webs,
The cover, of the winges of Grashoppers,
The traces are the Moone-shine watrie beames,
The collers crickets bones, the lash of filmes,
Her waggoner is a small gray coated flie,
Not halfe so big as is a little worme,
Pickt from the lasie finger of a maide,
And in this sort she gallops up and downe
Through Lovers braines, and then they dream of love:
O're Courtiers knees : who strait on cursies dreame
O're Ladies lips, who dreame on kisses strait :
Which oft the angrie Mab with blisters plagues,
Because their breathes with sweet meats tainted are :
Sometimes she gallops ore a Lawers lap,
And then dreames he of smelling out a sute,
And sometime comes she with a tithe pigs taile,
Tickling a Parsons nose that lies a sleepe,
And then dreames he of another benefice :
Sometime she gallops ore a souldiers nose,
And then dreames he of cutting forraine throats,
Of breaches ambuscados, countermines,
Of healthes five fadome deepe, and then anon
Drums in his eare : at which he startes and wakes,
And sweares a Praier or two and sleepes againe.
This is that Mab that makes maids lie on their backes,
And proves them women of good cariage. ((the night,
This is the verie Mab that plats the manes of Horses in
And plats the Elfelocks in foule sluttish haire,
Which once untangled much misfortune breedes.
Rom: Peace, peace, thou talkst of nothing.
Mer: True I talk of dreames,
Which are the Chi dren of an idle braine,
Begot of nothing but vaine fantasie,
Which is as thinne a substance as the aire,
And more inconstant than the winde,
Which wooes euen now the frosê bowels of the north,
And being angred puffes away in haste,
Turning his face to the dew-dropping south.
Quarto 2 1599
Mer. O then I see Queene Mab hath bin with you:
She is the Fairies midwife, and she comes in shape no bigger thê
an Agot stone, on the forefinger of an Alderman, drawne with
a teeme of little ottamie, over mens noses as they lie asleep: her
waggõ spokes made of l_og spinners legs: the cover, of the wings
of Grashoppers, her traces of the smallest spider web, her collors
of the moonshines watry beams, her whip of Crickets bone, the
lash of Philome, her waggoner, a small grey coated Gnat, not
half so big as a round litle worme, prickt from the lazie finger of
a man. Her Charriot is an emptie Hasel nut, Made by the Ioyner
squirrel or old Grub, time out a mind, the Fairie Coatchmakers:
and in this state she gallops night by night, throgh lovers brains,
and then they dreame of love. On Courtiers knees, that dreame
on Cursies strait ore Lawyersfingers who strait dreame on fees,
ore Ladies lips who strait one kisses dream, which oft the angrie
Mab with blisters plagues, because their breath with sweete
meates tainted are. Sometime she gallops ore a Courtiers nose,
and then dreames he of smelling out a sute: and sometime comes
she with a tithpigs tale, tickling a Persons nose as a lies asleepe,
then he dreams of an other Benefice. Sometime she driveth ore
a souldiers neck, and then dreames he of cutting forrain throates,
of breaches, ambuscados, spanish blades: Of healths five fadome
deepe, and then anon drums in his eare, at which he starts and
wakes, and being thus frighted, sweares a praier or two, & sleeps
againe: this is that very Mab that plats the manes of horses in the
night: and bakes the Elklocks in foulesluttish haires, which
once untangled, much misfortune bodes.
This is the hag, when maides lie on their backs,
That presses them and learnes them first to beare,
Making them women of good carriage:
This is she.
Romeo. Peace, peace, Mercutio peace,
Thou talkst of nothing.
Mer. True, I talke of dreames:
Which are the children of an idle braine,
Begot of nothing but vaine phantasie:
Which is as thin of substance as the ayre,
And more inconstant then the wind who wooes?
Even now the frozen bosome of the North:
And being angerd puffes away from thence,
Turning his side to the dewe dropping South.
Folio 1623
Mer. O then I see Queene Mab hath beene with you:
She is the Fairies Midwife, & she comes in shape no big-
ger then Agat-stone, on the fore-finger of an Alderman,
drawne with a teeme of little Atomies, over mens noses as
they lie asleepe: her Waggon Spokes made of long Spin-
ners legs: the Cover of the wings of Grashoppers, her
Traces of the smallest Spiders web, her coullers of the
Moonshines watry Beames, her Whip of Crickets bone,
the Lash of Philome, her Waggoner, asmall gray-coated
Gnat, not halfe so bigge as a round little Worme, prickt
from the Lazie-finger of a man. Her Chariot is an emptie
Haselnut, made by the Joyner Squirrel or old Grub, time
out a mind, the Faries Coach-makers: & in this state she
gallops night by night, through Lovers braines: and then
they dreame of Love. On Courtiers knees, that dreame on
Cursies strait: ore Lawyers fingers, who strait dreampt on
Fees, ore Ladies lips, who strait on kisses dreame, which
oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues, because their
breath with Sweet meats tainted are. Sometime she gal-
lops ore a Courtiers nose, & then dreames he of smelling
out asute: & somtime comes she with Tith pigs tale, tick-
ling a Parsons nose as a lies asleepe, then he dreames of
another Benefice. Sometime she driveth ore a Souldiers
necke, & then dreames he of cutting Forraine throats, of
Breaches, Ambuscados, Spanish Blades: Of Healths five
Fadome deepe, and then anon drums in his eares, at which
he startes and wakes; and being thus frighted, sweares a
prayer or two & sleepes againe: this is that very Mab that
plats the manes of Horses in the night: & bakes the Elk-
locks in foule sluttish haires, which once untangled, much
misfortune bodes,
This is the hag, when Maides lie on their backs,
That presses them, and learnes them first to beare,
Making them women of good carriage:
This is she.
Rom. Peace, peace, Mercutio peace,
Thou talk’st of nothing.
Mer. True, I talke of dreames:
Which are the children of an idle braine,
Begot of nothing, but vaine phantasie,
Which is as thin of substance as the ayre,
And more inconstant then the wind, who wooes
Even now the frozen bosome of the North:
And being anger’d, puffes away from thence,
Turning his side to the dew dropping South.
Actors Shakespeare Company at NJCU’s World Premiere production of Logomaniacs runs from December 5–19, 2010 at the West Side Theater. Tickets are available through http://www.theatermania.com/.
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