thumb|upright=1.1|Queen Mab, illustration by [[Arthur Rackham (1906)]]
Queen Mab is a fairy referred to in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, in which the character Mercutio famously describes her as "the fairies' midwife", a miniature creature who rides her chariot (which is driven by a team of atom-sized creatures) over the bodies of sleeping humans during the nighttime, thus helping them "give birth" to their dreams. Later depictions in other poetry and literature and various guises in drama and cinema have typically portrayed her as the Queen of the Fairies.
Origin
Shakespeare may have borrowed the character of Mab from folklore, but this is debated and there have been numerous theories on the origin of the name. A popular theory holds that Mab derives from Medb (pronounced "Maive" There is marked contrast between the formidable warrior Medb and the tiny dream-bringer Mab.
Other authors such as Wirt Sikes argued that Mab comes from the Welsh "mab" ("child" or "son"), although critics noted the lack of supporting evidence.
A more likely origin for Mab's name would be from Mabel and the Middle English derivative "Mabily" (as used by Chaucer) all from the Latin amabilis ("lovable"). Simon Young contends that this fits in with fairy names in British literature of the time, which tended to be generic and monosyllabic. "Mab" was a nickname for a low-class woman or prostitute, or possibly for a haglike witch. Similarly, "queen" is a pun on "quean", a term for a prostitute.
- 1750 pantomime by actor Henry Woodward,
- Queen Mab (1813), the first large poetic work written by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- The composer Hector Berlioz wrote a "Queen Mab" scherzo in his Romeo et Juliette symphony (1839). Hugh Macdonald describes this piece as "Berlioz's supreme exercise in light orchestral texture, a brilliant, gossamer fabric, prestissimo and pianissimo almost without pause... The pace and fascination of the movement are irresistible; it is some of the most ethereally brilliant music ever penned."
- Charles Gounod's 1867 opera Romeo et Juliette includes a song about Queen Mab sung by the character Mercutio.
- In the 1998 television miniseries Merlin, Queen Mab (Miranda Richardson) has been inserted into Arthurian legend as the primary antagonist, but is preserved as a ruler of fairies, pixies, goblins and a belief system referred to as 'the old ways', in opposition to the introduction of Christianity by recent Roman influences. Mab is responsible for the creation of the half-human wizard Merlin and influences the conception of Mordred, Arthur's illegitimate son and her protegé. This version of Mab is the twin and opposite of the Lady of the Lake.
- In The Dresden Files Summer Knight (2002) by Jim Butcher, Mab appears as the Queen of the Unseelie Court, also known as the Queen of Air and Darkness and ruler of the Winter Fae.
- The Iron Fey series, Mab appears as the Queen of the Unseelie Court.
- Under the Pendulum Sun (2017) by Jeannette Ng has Mab as queen of the fae.
- Persona (series), where one of the available "personas" is named Queen Mab.