Question

Read the following excerpt from Mercutio’s monologue about Queen Mab, bringer of dreams from Romeo and Juliet:

... she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep;


What is the effect of Shakespeare’s use of imagery?

Answer 1

Shakespeare uses very descriptive imagery When Mercrutio describes Queen Mab. This is useful, because Queen Mab brings dreams, and to picture a tiny queen with a small group of little bodies following her across sleeping men's noses gives a much more whimsical and dreamlike image to the audience than simply saying "She brings dreams".