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Blisters mention in Shakespeare text (herpes?)


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Posted

Read this passage below and then go into the link… (BLISTERS) ... Do you think it means herpes blisters? Interesting, huh?

 

Mercutio (to Romeo) in Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare:

 

O'er ladies lips, who straight on kisses dream,

Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues,

Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are:

Sometime she gallops o’er a courtier’s nose,

And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;

And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig’s tail

Tickling a parson’s nose as a’ lies asleep....

 

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/page_54.html

Posted

This definitely makes me wonder ... I was always confused by Shakespeare's prose. Beautiful and poetic, yes, but damn hard to understand! ;) So if I understand it correctly, it refers to kisses and that kissing is a no-no, so someone named angry Mab gives them what they deserve: oral herpes. Is that right? Ha! I never was a lit major, but if how I'm reading it is true, it lines up with my understanding of what our society feels about intimacy: that somehow, underneath it all, passion and lust are sinful. And that STIs like herpes are some method of punishment to those who dare to follow their sinful desires. Of course, I think this is all bull-honky ... but who can argue with Shakespeare? ;)

This content is for informational purposes only. This information does not constitute medical advice or diagnosis. I'm not a medical professional, so please take this as friendly peer support. 

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Posted

Mab is queen of the fairys :) more info on her, and Mercutio's monologue (from which the excerpt above was taken) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Mab in the "Queen Mab" Wikipedia article. The article even says that the blisters mentioned are "thought [to be] a reference to the plague or to herpes simplex."

 

Posted

Well that would make sense if I read deeper now wouldn't it? ;) Well I stand corrected, then ... :)

This content is for informational purposes only. This information does not constitute medical advice or diagnosis. I'm not a medical professional, so please take this as friendly peer support. 

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