32. Where is Romeo headed at the beginning of this scene? Who is going with him? Romeo is headed to the Capulet’s Ball. His friends Mercutio and Benvolio are attending the Capulet’s Ball with him.

Pg What does Mercutio want Romeo to do when they get to the ball?  He wants Romeo to dance. 34. Does Romeo want to dance? Why/why not?  No, he says, to his friend Mercutio, “You have dancing shoes /With nimble soles. I have a soul of lead/ So stakes me to the ground I cannot move.”

Pg A pun is a play on words. Romeo is still depressed. How do Romeo and Mercutio play with the meaning of the word “soar.” Hint: Look at lines Mercutio: “You are a lover. Borrow Cupid’s wings /And soar with them above a common bound. Romeo: I am too sore empierced with his shaft/ To soar with his light feathers...”

Pg Romeo has reservations about going to the masque or masquerade ball. Why is he uneasy about going to the ball?  Romeo says, “I dreamt a dream tonight,” indicating that he has had a bad dream about what might happen at the Capulet’s ball.

Pg Who, according to Mercutio, is Queen Mab?  Mercutio says that Queen Mab is the fairies ‘ midwife. She is the person who brings us our dreams each night.

Pg What does Mercutio think about dreams?  He says that “dreams are the children of idle brains,” essentially saying that our dreams do not mean anything. Dreams are “begot of nothing but vain fantasy, which is as thin of substance as the air”

Pg What lines point to Romeo’s uneasiness about the Capulet’s ball?  Romeo says, “I fear too early, for my mind misgives/ Some consequence yet hanging in the stars/ Shall bitterly begin his fearful date /With this night’s revels, and expire the term / Of a despised life closed in my breast/ By some vile forfeit of untimely death. But he that hath the steerage of my course/ Direct my sail.”