Alyssa Walsh
ENG102
Professor Bakos
Essay #2
Ophelia’s Flowers
Shakespeare liked to use flowers and plants as symbolism to illustrate his ideas. she uses flowers as symbols of her grief and madness. She had been rejected by her lover, Hamlet; Hamlet killed her father, Polonius. Ophelia needed to express herself, and she does so by passing out flowers in what was believed to be her state of madness before killing herself. Essentially, her telling people what they’ve done to her with flowers before she committed suicide. Using flowers in this indirect way is safer than directly stating her viewpoint. Ophelia chooses them with the intent to what she thinks and feels about the happenings around her.
“There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. / Pray you, love, remember.” Rosemary is a symbol for remembrance and faithfulness. Laertes, the son of Polonius, has been gone and returns home to find out who is responsible for the death of his father. She wants to him to find out who killed her father, to think back on what’s going on. This flower has also has a lot of melancholy behind it and can be seen as a symbol of Ophelia’s impending death since its used in funerals and burials.
She also gives out. pansies Pansies are known to symbolize thought. These flowers might symbolize Ophelia listening to her brother. He was against her involvement with Hamlet, which was rightfully so since he drove her mad. Laertes, her brother, tells her not to believe his expressions of love.”…if he says he loves you, it fits your wisdom so far to believe it as he in his particular act and place may give his saying deed…” It could also represent Ophelia’s mind because what she once was was gone, she had gone mad. But how mad could she have gone if she still could match up flowers deeper meaning to people themselves.
Ophelia goes to the King, and while handing him some fennel, says, “There’s fennel for you and columbines.” She’s attacking the King in a way since fennel is known for flattery but columbines are to mean male adultery, ingratitude, and faithlessness; the emblem of deceived lovers. It was also the symbol for foolishness. It was big deal for her to first flatter the King and then attack him on the basis of foolish adultery. The King has the power to take her life, but that didn’t matter to her at that point.
”There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me. We may call it ‘herb of grace’ o’ Sundays. Oh, you must wear your rue with a difference.” Rue is a symbol of bitterness and sorrow but also repentance. Rue is the symbol for adultery; the symbol for genuine repentance of all transgressions for women; the symbol for everlasting suffering. Note that rue was the major cause of abortion in its day, which is also why it was tied in with adultery. So she insults both the Queen and King to their faces, in front of witnesses.
Ophelia then sees a daisy and says, “There’s a daisy,” and she picks it up, and then puts it back. Daisy is the symbol for innocence. By her picking it up and putting it back her her essentially saying nobody is innocent, theres no innocence here. Violet: the symbol for faithfulness or fidelity
“I would give you some violets, but they wither’d all when my father died.”
This was very confrontational scene. Ophelia had to have a lot of anger and passion to go around calling out people the way she did. Most people now do not know about flower symbolism. Which would lead them to not understanding the deeper meaning to this scene. Ophelia knew exactly what she was doing when she handed out flowers in this scene. It’s also brought a deeper insight to what Ophelia was feeling in that moment. Not directly said, but she was going around essentially telling each person something before she decided to commit suicide. Ophelia’s death is super controversial but with the way she handled herself and the way she spoke to the people she was giving the flowers to, especially the King, she knew what she had planned. One wouldn’t go up to their King the way she did and make a mockery of him knowing he could destroy her life essentially. The flowers go to show a deep representation of how Ophelia was feeling and where her head was at.