Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck,
And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,
Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon
Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,
And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two
And sleeps again.
– William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 4. Queen Mab becomes a very dark figure here, as Mercutio explains how the dream-maker brings soldiers nightmares that give them urges for violence. This taste for violence is echoed in the play, with the young men of Verona all too ready and willing to fight and even kill.